Donald Trump blasts California Governor Gavin Newsom for state's homelessness crisis - Daily Mail

Donald Trump blasts California Governor Gavin Newsom for state's homeless crisis and says federal government may get involved - as it's revealed that more than 140,000 residents are now without shelter

Donald Trump says California Governor Gavin Newsom is doing a 'really bad job' in addressing the state's homelessness crisis
The number of homeless people in California increased more than 16% in the past year alone
More than 140,000 residents are now without shelter on a given night
Furious locals have begun placing boulders and large logs outside their homes and businesses to deter vagrants from setting up shelters
A recent report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development found Democrat-controlled states had the highest rates of homelessness
New York, Hawaii, California and Washington state topped the list
Meanwhile, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Virginia and North Dakota had the lowest rates of homeless per 10,000 people

Published: 06:16 GMT, 26 December 2019 | Updated: 08:43 GMT, 26 December 2019

President Trump has taken time out from his Christmas Day festivities to blast California Governor Gavin Newsom for failing to adequately address the state's growing homeless crisis.

The President took to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon, threatening to get the federal government involved in the crisis because Newsom is doing 'a really bad job'.

The tweet comes after the Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD] released data last week revealing that the homeless rate in California has surged a staggering 16.4% in the past twelve months.

Now, more than 140,000 California residents are without shelter on any given night - accounting for more than a fifth of the entire homeless population across the United States.

Newsom, who only took office this year, appears to be blaming the Trump administration for the escalating crisis.

He was seen on camera last week, stating: ' They're [the Trump Administration] not serious about this issue. They're playing politics with it, expect nothing but division coming and emanating from the folks at HUD and the President.'

President Trump has taken time out from his Christmas Day festivities to blast California Governor Gavin Newsom for failing to adequately address the state's growing homelessness crisis

The President took to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon, threatening to get the federal government involved in the crisis because Newsom is doing 'a really bad job'

Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren posted the clip to her Twitter account last week and added the comment: 'Take accountability, Gavin. This is your state and you and your Democratic cohorts created this mess. You can't blame @realDonaldTrump forever. Step away from the hair gel and get to work!!!'

Trump then retweeted Lahren on Christmas afternoon, before adding his own threat to get the feds involved in the state.

'Governor Gavin N has done a really bad job on taking care of the homeless population in California. If he can’t fix the problem, the Federal Govt. will get involved!'

Data released last week revealed that the homeless rate in California has surged a staggering 16.4% in the past twelve months. An encampment is pictured in Los Angeles

More than 140,000 California residents are without shelter on any given night - more than a fifth of the entire homeless population across the United States

A man living in a homeless encampment in Santa Rosa, California is pictured with his dog earlier this month

Meanwhile, the recent study from HUD found that homeless rates are more prevalent in Democrat controlled states.

Blue states, such as New York, Hawaii, California and Washington had the highest rates of homelessness per 10,000 people.

States with the lowest rates of homelessness per 10,000 people are Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Virginia and North Dakota.

A Christmas food bank set up for homeless residents in Los Angeles is pictured on Sunday

Blue states, such as New York, Hawaii, California and Washington had the highest rates of homelessness per 10,000 people. A tent city in Los Angeles is pictured

The HUD report found that California was not the state with the largest percentage increase in their homeless population.

The number of homeless people in the state of New Mexico increased by 27% in 2019.

Meanwhile, furious residents in California have begun taking matters into their own hands - fed up that the state government appears to be adequately addressing the crisis.

In Oakland, business owners recently put large logs over their streets to deter homeless people from setting up camps.

In San Francisco, residents placed boulders on the sidewalk to stop encampments outside their doors.

San Francisco, as well as other California cities, have undergone a homeless crisis that has permeated into every day and affected thousands of people

Pictured: a homeless man sleeps on a makeshift bed made of pieces cardboard pieces in San Francisco

Several neighbors combined a few hundred dollars to buy the boulders and placed them in a row near street curbs.

A spokeswoman from the San Francisco Public Works department said the city was not involved in the boulder placement and originally said they would not remove the boulders because they weren't blocking the main walkway.

This response angered advocates who said the boulder placement was 'anti-homeless architecture'.

Authorities eventually removed the boulders after saying they posed a road safety hazard.

Advocates said the boulders (pictured), which were eventually moved by city officials due to road safety hazard, was a 'anti-homeless architecture'

Meanwhile, the city's Tenderloin district is a particular grievance for residents who want to clean up the area.

Pictured: several homeless residents erected a camp on Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Oakland, California

The Tenderloin district hosts a series of addicts and homeless who reportedly leave behind human waste, as well as used needles.

The city set up public toilets in an attempt to combat this and last year the formation of the 'poop patrol', a special six-person team tasked with cleaning up the feces around San Francisco, was announced.

San Francisco also funded an initiative to hire people to collect used needles off the street.

The San Francisco City Performance Scorecard reports that there are 9,784 individuals that meet the federal definition of homeless in 2019 - rising 30 percent more than the 2017 count.

Jeff Kositsky, the director for the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, estimates that 20,000 homeless people reside or pass through San Francisco any given year.

Even with the rise of the homeless crisis and residents calling for action, only five percent of the city's total budget is used to combat homelessness.

The city has faced government and federal criticism in addition to resident outcry.

President Donald Trump visited California in mid-September and subsequently unleashed a very public condemnation of San Francisco's homeless crisis.

Trump blamed 'liberal policies' for the crisis and said city officials were allowing waste to filter through storm drains leading to the ocean.

'It's a terrible situation that's in Los Angeles and in San Francisco,' Trump said of the issue.

He has since made homelessness in major U.S. cities a campaign issue going into the 2020 election.

The Environmental Protection Agency accused the state of California of failing to protect residents from 'degraded water.'

In a letter from Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler, he addressed Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The letter said: 'California needs to fulfill its obligation to protect its water bodies and, more importantly, public health, and it should take this letter as notice that EPA is going to insist that it meets its environmental obligations.'

'If California does not step up to its delegated responsibilities, then EPA will be forced to take action.'

The letter directly linked the alleged water pollution to the homelessness crisis.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson (pictured) rejected a housing aid request from California Gov. Gavin Newsom and mayors from the state's 13 largest cities

Although the Trump administration has told San Francisco and California to clean up its act, they're unwilling to pay for it.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson rejected a housing aid request from Gov. Newson and mayors from the state's 13 biggest cities.

The request asked for additional resources to fight homelessness, including 50,000 housing vouchers for the poor.

Carson said: 'Your letter seeks more federal dollars for California from hardworking American taxpayers but fails to admit that your state and local policies have played a major role in creating the current crisis.'

Carson implied that California's law enforcement policies, over-regulated housing market and sanctuary city policies are the root problem.

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