Some President’s political advisers worry Trump is equally distracted from the actual health and economic crisis facing the country and alienates moderate swing voters whose views on race have evolved by viewing Confederate monuments as “history.”

But Trump insists the problem is a win for him and has refused to change direction.

“This is a battle to save our country’s Heritage, History and Greatness!” he wrote on Tuesday, using his campaign hashtag # MAGA2020.

Polls show voters now largely disagree with Trump’s handling of races, including the vast majority of women. Sixty-four percent of women said in a New York Times / Siena poll last week they disagreed about how Trump handled race relations.

“I will veto the Defense Authorization Bill if Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren (of all people!) Amendments, which will lead to a change of name (plus other bad things!) From Fort Bragg, Fort Robert E. Lee, and many other Military The base from which we won the Two World Wars is in the bill! “Trump writes.

Trump also condemned the decision to remove the names of Woodrow Wilson and John Wayne from buildings and has launched an all-out effort to punish those who destroy national monuments.

Black Lives Matter

On Wednesday, the President was angry at a plan announced recently by officials in New York City to paint the phrase “Black Lives Matter” in front of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue. This will be the second time the words appear in large letters outside one of Trump’s houses; The mayor of Washington asked for the term to be painted in large yellow letters on a street near the White House last month.

Work on the plan will begin in the coming days, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday. A day earlier, the New York City Council approved a budget that included a $ 1 billion cut for the city police department.

“NYC deducts $ Police by ONE BILLION DOLLARS, but @NYCMayor will paint the Big Black Life sign that is yellow on Fifth Avenue, patronizing this fancy Avenue,” Trump wrote on Twitter shortly after de Blasio announced the time of his plan. “This will be even more hostile to the New York Finest.”

The president, who had rejected calls to condemn white nationalists, later called the words “Black Lives Matter” a “symbol of hatred” and suggested that police officers could block the work: “Maybe our HOT Police, who have been neutralized and insulted by a mayor. who hate and disrespect them, will not let this symbol of hatred be plastered on New York’s biggest streets. Spend this money fighting crime! “

Target fair housing law, citing impacts on the suburbs

The message came after a midnight tweet on Tuesday showing Obama-era fair housing law intended to combat segregation had a “devastating effect” on the outskirts of the city. Trump is trying to strengthen his position with voters in the suburbs, which was the key to his victory in 2016 but which according to opinion polls now shows he is losing badly – in part because of his divisive views on race.

In the message, Trump wrote that he was reviewing the Fair Housing mandate, which came into force in 2015 as a way to support the 1968 Fair Housing Act, which prohibits restrictions on selling or renting homes to people based on race – and where Trump and his father was accused in a case of violation of federal civil rights in 1973.

“At the request of many great Americans who live in Suburbs, and others, I am studying AFFH housing regulations which have a devastating effect on the rapidly developing Suburban area,” Trump wrote. He said his election year rival Joe Biden wanted to make the suburbs “MUCH BAD.”

“It’s not fair for homeowners,” Trump wrote, “I can END!”

But it’s not clear how Trump’s message – which in terms of time and content is used in conversations around race and equality – can help.

Impact of the Fair Housing Act

Although the Fair Housing Act has been in force for decades, many neighborhoods remain separate, with minority communities tending to have access to good schools, health care and public programs needed to help citizens escape poverty. AFFH is considered important to further enhance the playing field for underprivileged populations.

In the official definition of the regulation, the Department of Housing and Urban Development said AFFH was designed “to take meaningful action to overcome historical patterns of segregation, promote fair housing choices, and foster inclusive communities free from discrimination.”

The regulation requires citizens who receive federal funds to submit to the assessment and analysis of fair housing practices, which proponents say are needed to hold them accountable for the enforcement of the Fair Housing Act.

Trump himself was accused of violating the Fair Housing Act when he ran his family’s real estate company in the 1970s. At that time, the Department of Justice alleged that blacks who asked about apartments in the Trump building were rejected but white tenants were offered a lease.

This case was finally resolved after Trump tried to sue.

The Trump administration has said in 2018 that it is delaying the implementation of the AFFH rules, part of a larger effort to dismantle the legacy left by President Barack Obama. At that time, the HUD took the decision as part of a broader effort to reexamine the rules left over from the previous administration.

Earlier this year, HUD Secretary Ben Carson proposed changes that would essentially eliminate AFFH, saying that the mayor and local officials knew their community better than the federal government and were better positioned to make housing decisions. That was welcomed with strong opposition from housing advocates, who said the removal of the rules would make housing unfair.

“This attack on fair housing is part of the ongoing efforts of the greater Trump government to dismantle the protection of civil rights, and it must be stopped,” Lisa Rice, president and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance, said in March.