Donald J. Trump vs Chicago is a consistent feud that won’t be going away any time soon. The 45th President of the United States of America consistently makes the city of Chicago his punching bag, and there are several reasons for this.
Trump has publicly slammed Chicago at least nine times since his inauguration.
While Chicago does indeed have a very serious problem with violent crime, it is far from the hellscape dystopia Trump makes it out to be. More than a dozen American cities have a higher per capita murder rate than Chicago.
Here's another #Chicago item that @realDonaldTrump @POTUS must see, and finally understand. From @MSNBC town hall with @allinwithchris pic.twitter.com/33A6gGlae8
— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) February 12, 2017
(Graphic- MSNBC “All in with Chris Hayes,”, here’s a link to more on the town hall)
Trump also seems cognitively unable to reach two basic truths regarding his narrative.
One, almost all of the violence occurs within just five of the city’s 22 police districts, and an overwhelming majority transpires in just three of those five.
Secondly, Trump never offers specific policy solutions, just lectern rhetoric and tweets. He doesn’t seem to understand that communities with an alarmingly high crime rate pose issues that cannot even be analyzed, let alone resolved, in 140 characters or less. There’s much more at work here under the surface, and thus we present to you:
five real reasons for the Trump vs Chicago dichotomy, and why it’s destined to continue for quite some time.
Hundreds moon #trumptower send message to @realDonaldTrump @POTUS to show his tax returns #rumpsagainsttrump #TheResistance #NeverTrump ???? pic.twitter.com/MGPZrnRflz
— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) February 12, 2017
He’s Still Sore About the UIC Protests Shutting Down His Rally During the Primaries
When you’re dealing with someone as thin-skinned at the current POTUS, every slight lingers. It’s hard to name a city that resisted Trump during the primary season as strongly as Chicago did. You’ll recall the scene last March at UIC. This is a huge deal because a narcissist believes everyone must approve of them at all times.
When people disapprove, the wound sticks and festers for much longer than in an individual with a healthy self-esteem. From the Women’s March to the Trump Tower mass mooning, we’ve seen a whole lot of Trump vs Chicago activism and every little bit stings to him.
His Political Career Began with a Personal Beef Against Barack Obama
Of all the dangerous and deplorable qualities Trump has, the tendency to consistently contest facts is probably the worst.
There is nothing more inherently dangerous than a basic failure to accept objective reality, and that is exactly the method that ignited his political career. Trump tapped into Tea Party bigotry, and helped the birtherism movement take off.
The birther trend wasn’t much beyond base, repugnant racism, just as life-long Republican Colin Powell said in his hacked and leaked emails. Obama bested Trump when he roasted him at the 2011 White House correspondents dinner, and Barack’s successor wasn’t able to move past this public embarrassment; even though it was one that he obviously brought on himself.
Pure spite was the main impetus for 45 to begin his Presidential campaign and he’s since continued to define himself as the anti-Obama. Trump has slammed Obama at every single turn, even calling him “the founder of Isis” several times on the campaign trail.
Chicago is the adopted hometown of 44, and the future site of the Obama Presidential library, creating yet another reason for it to be his main target.
What a beautiful and wonderful city Chicago is @realDonaldTrump @POTUS pic.twitter.com/Xjrq2eWNIS
— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) February 17, 2017
He Desperately Needs a Foil, and a Democratic Stronghold is the Perfect Target
Since Trump is shallow and superficial on actual policy, he consistently needs to identify himself in opposition to something else.
This was easy during the primaries (he had the other GOP candidates to scrap with) and the general election (Hillary Clinton was his sparring partner). In the 100+ days since his extremely unexpected (and quite possibly unwanted by even himself) electoral college victory, he’s been desperate for a foil. He finally settled on the free press.
This “me against the media world” stance is obviously not fully authentic, given:
1.) He’s trying so aggressively to make it happen at every single opportunity. It’s like the person who never leaves but consistently tells you “I’m really going this time! I mean it!” and
2.) He’s the most attention-needy individual that you’ll ever find. Trump loves nothing as much as he loves his own ego, and publicity is a huge part of how he defines self-worth.
He secretly loves the media and during that rambling, defensive, whiny, incoherent dumpster fire of a press conference last Thursday he even admitted how much he loves doing Q&A with reporters.
While the mainstream media makes for a good faux-opponent he still needs another outlet for his venom. It must be an area of the country that’s always overwhelmingly blue on the electoral map. Has to be a sanctuary city too.
It can’t be New York City because he lives there. Los Angeles is out because Trump loves Hollywood, and the last thing he’d ever want to attack is the capital of celebrity culture. Of all his accomplishments, becoming a celebrity is probably the one he’s most proud of. With the two biggest cities out, #3 makes the perfect antagonist. His electoral opponent even hails from the suburbs as Hillary Clinton was born in Park Ridge, Illinois.
As an added bonus, it’s run by a former Obama White House staffer in Rahm Emanuel.
Several Minor Donald Trump vs Chicago Tiffs Have Broken Out
The city has removed any and all Trump “honorary” street signs. One of which was stolen and its whereabouts are still currently unknown. Via the Chicago Tribune:
The City Council voted a week before the Nov. 8 presidential election to take down the signs, citing the “caricature” of Chicago that Trump presented during the campaign through his frequent mentions of the city as a place overrun with violent crime. Aldermen also knocked Trump’s pledge to deport millions of immigrants in the country illegally in voting to take away the street sign honor.
I hear the Rickets family, who own the Chicago Cubs, are secretly spending $'s against me. They better be careful, they have a lot to hide!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2016
We’ve also seen Trump vs Chicago fought on these fronts:
–the size of the lettering on Trump Tower
–the artist who strove to block out the trump Tower sign with a statue of pigs flying
–swipes at the Chicago Cubs organization.
Trump vs Chicago is one Big, Long Willie Horton Style Campaign Ad to Him
In Trump land, Chicago is also code for “black people shooting each other.”
His supporters (as well as large parts of central, southern Illinois hear “Chicago” and simply equate it with “gangbangers killing each other.” This is not new to Trump, as local media have been perpetuating these negative stereotypes for decades. This racist dog whistle isn’t new to Republican party tactics either.
Remember the “Willie Horton ad” the Bush 41 campaign ran against Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis in ’88?
Trump has simply covered an old song and remixed it for 2017.
There will be many more Trump vs Chicago skirmishes, and while some of the causes for this clash are quite sinister; others are just petty.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times and Bold, contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication, CGTN America, WGN CLTV News and KOZN.
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