There are two ways to think about Donald Trump in Los Angeles. You can either hate him, or you can hate him.
For LACP, which values ideas over ideology, that’s a hard proposition. Some of his policies have genuine merit. Take immigration. Most Americans agree the border needs better management, and that those with serious criminal records — gang members, violent felons — should face consequences. Those aren’t fringe positions.
But Trump, like the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz, is in desperate need of a heart. And it’s becoming clear that this absence — this inability to feel for ordinary people — is exactly why so many despise him.
Consider the rule change quietly released yesterday by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It would require verification of U.S. citizenship or eligible immigration status for every household member to receive public housing assistance — regardless of age. It would also eliminate the longstanding practice of prorating benefits for eligible family members in mixed-status households. The result: U.S. citizens living with undocumented relatives could lose their housing assistance entirely.
For Los Angeles — a city built on the backs of hard-working Latino families, many of them in exactly these mixed-status households — this is not a policy. It’s a gut punch.
To be clear: current law already prohibits public funds from subsidizing ineligible residents. Since 1995, HUD has allowed mixed-status families in federally assisted housing, provided subsidies are prorated. Ineligible members pay full market-rate rent, meaning these families actually contribute more rental income to housing agencies than most other assisted households. The existing rule protects stability while costing taxpayers nothing extra. Trump’s proposal dismantles that without justification.
Mayor Karen Bass didn’t mince words. “This proposed rule change threatens every mixed-status household with the loss of the federal housing assistance they rely on to stay afloat,” she said. “To every worried family in Los Angeles right now, know that I will never stop fighting for you.”
LACP stands with her.
Trump needs a visit to the Wizard. The President of the United States should be capable of compassion — not just for his family and his base, but for all Americans, including those whose families don’t fit neatly into his preferred categories.
Too often, he isn’t. Sadly, that’s why Angelenos are left with only two ways to think about him.
