Slumlord president Donald Trump shames California Democrats on eviction ban

Donald Trump did a federal eviction moratorium. It’s true. Our abusive slumlord president — through an executive order, now carried out by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention — just made it much harder for landlords to evict tenants because of their failure to pay rent.

As far as things go, Trump’s eviction ban is still limited and narrow. 

It only applies to renters who are facing eviction because of lost income or medical expenses. So it doesn’t protect people in situations like mine and Evgenia’s, as we’re dealing with a landlord who wants to clear us out of a rent-controlled apartment for no good reason whatsoever. Doesn’t matter if it’s happening to us during a pandemic, we’re not covered. On top of that, Trump’s eviction ban also doesn’t last very long. It expires in January, right after the presidential election in November — at which point it looks like renters will be on the hook for past due rent. 

So the ban delays the inevitable eviction crisis — delays it long enough for Trump to leverage it for his reelection. And after that? Who cares what happens, right? 

Trump in the New York Times, 1985 

Sure, it’s a cynical move. Everyone knows Trump could care less about renters. But politically it’s smart. And here’s the thing: despite its limitations and cynicism, Trump’s ban is a lot more generous than what’s on offer in states and cities all across America.

It’s definitely better than the crappy eviction “moratorium” signed into law a few days ago by California governor Gavin Newsom. Out here in the land of liberalism and the Democratic Party, renters are now protected but only if they can keep forking over at least 25 percent of their rent. But if you lost your job and can’t keep paying the monthly protection money to your landlord? Tough luck. Go sell some homemade masks, get creative, rob someone. No one cares how you get the cash. And if you can’t cut it, well, take your family and fuck off. Plenty of sidewalks and freeway underpasses to choose from.

That’s the political brutality the Democratic Party is selling out here, wrapped up as the pinnacle of progressivism: “We shut down the economy to protect you from a pandemic and now that you’re unemployed because of it, you’re pretty much on your own.” The panicked desires of landlords come first…

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—Yasha Levine is a Russian born blogger and geopolitical analyst.