Trump’s Anti-Urban Bias Sparks Culture War

Former President Donald Trump seems to have vested enmity against American urban areas. Across his multiple Presidential bids, his descriptions of urban life portray a dystopian image reminiscent of a 1980s horror flick. An example is his statement in 2022, where he infamously claimed, ‘The cities are decaying and have indeed turned into pools of blood.’ In light of this, Trump has recently made dubious crime allegations concerning Washington, D.C., despite the fact that crime rates are decreasing therein.

He has also insinuated that, under his Presidential power, he could instigate a federal ‘control’ of key metropolises such as Washington, D.C., and New York City. Recently, his ominous sights seem fixed on Chicago. Meanwhile, other cities in the U.S., which usually exhibit left-leaning tendencies and host significant immigrant residence, have also received Trump’s negative markings. Some of the terms Trump has used to refer to these urban centers include ‘worse than Afghanistan’ for Chicago, a ‘killing field’ for Atlanta, and ‘war zones and ganglands’ for numerous Californian cities.

Interestingly, his commentary on urban areas presents stark contrast with his glowing descriptions of ‘gorgeous’ rural areas located within red states, where electors are much more likely to vote in his favor. His administration has carried out mass-deportation actions concentrated mainly in Democratic-run cities, with staunchly blue Los Angeles consistently drawing notable attention from the White House.

A significant episode was witnessed last month, when the National Guard was sent to L.A. during ICE raids. Then Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem declared that the Federal forces were embarking on a mission to ‘free’ Los Angeles ‘from socialist ruling and the cumbersome leadership.’ Yet, it remains indisputable that about 80% of Americans make their homes in or around cities. Those living in the urban landscape are as essentially American as their rural counterparts, and, importantly, cities are leading contributors to overall economic growth.

Everyone prospers when urban centers thrive. Blatantly criticizing cities seems to be a potent trigger for a cultural war that sparks voter participation. The instinct to categorize the world into ‘us’ versus ‘them’ remains an innate characteristic of humanity. As Jonathan Weiler, a professor of global studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, has clarified, in this context, the ‘us’ represent the genuine, industrious Americans while ‘them’ is a symbol for elements causing a cultural enigma and ‘moral decay.’

Such clichés and anti-urban sentiments aren’t new to the contemporary political landscape. Yphtach Lelkes, an associate professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, postulated that framing cities as perilous not only heightens concerns about crime but also implies these places are culturally and morally foreign compared to small-town America.

‘It conveys to suburban and rural voters that cities are not only geographically distant but governed by individuals who do not adhere to their societal principles,’ said Lelkes, who also co-manages the Polarization Research Lab. Trump’s severe criticism of urban areas like Los Angeles or Detroit is not primarily targeted at their inhospital urbanites who disapprove of him, or his rural supporters. Rather, he aims to attract suburbanites, says Kal Munis, an assistant professor of political science at Auburn University in Alabama.

Several analysts interpret the term ‘inner cities’ as a coded reference to racial diversity due to the high ethnic diversity of cities. While race is undeniably part of the narrative, the unsaid majority of it revolves around a wider dismissal of urban values in today’s America – diversity, progressiveness, intellectualism, and resistance. ‘This is essentially a geography-tied cultural war,’ as per Lelkes.

Further, Lelkes postulates an additional underlying narrative that echoes authoritarian and fascist ideologies. These ideologies historically glorify rural life as pious, conventional, and virtuous while vilifying cities as corrupt, elitist, and morally degenerative. The right-wing populist undertones of Trump’s politics mirror such divisive ideologies, creating a clear divide between the ‘us’ and ‘them’. The demonization is prominently centered around specific elites in academics, media, legal circles, and areas concentrated on immigration.

In his book, ‘Unequal Cities: Overcoming Anti-Urban Bias to Reduce Inequality in the United States,’ economist Richard McGahey notes that America originated as a rural country. Therefore, many founding documents express explicit hostility towards cities. ‘Given this precedence, a rural vote can carry more influence than an urban vote,’ he said. This disproportion enables conservative politicians to win majorities while directly standing against cities and everything they encapsulate – demographic variety, urban values, and policies.

Going forward, the need for conservatives to start wooing urban residents is largely dependent on the shifting political geography. However, it remains to be seen how these geographical shifts will play out in the years to come, and what implications they will have for the political landscape and attitudes across the urban-rural divide.