Fran Dryden (L), homeless in Downers Grove, Illinois, prays with a well-wisher, August 2019 (Howard Lipin/San Diego Union-Tribune)


Using the homeless as a weapon to attack Democrats like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Donald Trump is threatening those without shelter, say experts and activists.

Trump has stepped up his attacks, in rallies and on Twitter, amid his impeachment trial and as income inequality has worsened. His attacks have eroded a bipartisan consensus on Housing First policies.

The approach had provided shelter for the homeless with social services like addiction treatment, rather than forcing them to get help before giving them a place to live. But, armed with Trump’s rhetoric and having lost control of the House of Representatives, some Republican legislators have begun assailing the programs.

“That seemed very political,” said Nan Roman, head of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. “Making it a political issue doesn’t help. In the past, we have been able to say it’s not one size fits all.”

Homelessness had dropped over a decade before Trump took office, but is now rising. Housing First advocates say that the increase is not due to program failing, but to a shortage of affordable housing as prices have surged in fast-growing cities.

Rather than addressing the causes, Trump exploited the issue as he railed against impeachment, focusing on Pelosi. He also assailed another foe, California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Mike Madrid, a Republican strategist with the Lincoln Project, a Republican effort to challenge Trump, also sees Trump’s effort to intimidate officials and politicians throughout the US: “[Homelessness is] a salient political foil for the president to talk to other states and say ‘Look at California. See how crazy they are? Do you really want that?’”

Turning the Homeless into Criminals

Trump’s language opens the door for efforts to stigmatize and punish the homeless, according to specialists.

“[The] rhetoric gives license to local leaders to step up their own rhetoric and policies,” says Maria Foscarinis, founder and executive director of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is denouncing city officials in Austin for decriminalizing homelessness and seeking a statewide ban on local measure.

In Las Vegas, Nevada, it is now illegal to sleep on public streets if shelter beds are available.

Conservative senators in Wisconsin are blocking the allocation of $3.7 million to reduce homelessness.

Congress has maintained federal funding for new shelters and housing and limited the Administration’s attempts to roll back the support. But activists worry that, in an election year, Trump will continue his public assault as he portrays the issue as a matter for law enforcement.