De Blasio calls Trump’s funding threat ‘insulting,’ but empty

De Blasio said the city will fight the move in court if it comes to that, but he predicted the threat would fizzle, similar to Trump’s vow to yank federal funding from sanctuary cities with immigrant-friendly policies.

“It’s all about race, and it’s all about attempts to divide and to enthrall his base by attacking the other. This is what this guy does. It’s the only trick in his book,” de Blasio said.

“There’s just no president in history whose been this irresponsible and divisive,” he added.

In its announcement, DOJ cited the spike in shootings in the city this year and a budget agreement to cut $1 billion from the NYPD, although the scope of the cuts turned out to be much smaller when full details of the budget emerged.

The department also cited decisions by the Brooklyn and Manhattan district attorneys not to prosecute low-level charges against protesters and the New York’s rejection of federal agents to patrol the city.

“We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance,” U.S. Attorney General William Barr said in a statement.