Cenk Uygur, host and co-founder of The Young Turks, was featured in a recent video discussing a planned $6 billion cut to the budget of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The host cited reporting from The Washington Post stating that President Donald Trump's plan would restrict "housing support," as well as end "community development grants" funded by the federal government.
Mr. Uygur described the plan saving the federal government money, money that "would go to help the poor," a group that isn't known for their Republican voting record. The TYT host also envisioned President Trump in the future, pointing to inner cities that are "a mess."
Uygur, who is a graduate of The Wharton School, explained that if federal programs that help develop inner cities are canceled, then "they would be a mess." The plan, which is still preliminary, is said to shrink the budget of HUD to $40.5 billion, by 14 percent for its fiscal 2018 year, which starts in October. The Washington Post holds up the information as the "latest evidence" supporting a Trump plan to cut spending by $54 billion, in order to "bolster" defense spending.
Uygur weighs $40.5 billion HUD budget with $600 billion defense budget
The TYT host stated that the budget for the Defense Department is $600 billion, noting that the president isn't satisfied, and appears intent on "adding another $54 billion." He described Trump destroying the budgets of "all the other agencies." The proposal, which has come from the Office of Management and Budget, would eliminate $4 billion in funding for cleaning up "struggling neighborhoods." Examples of U.S. citizens affected by the plan are said to include rental assistance totaling $300 million for homeless veterans, $42 million for the elderly, $29 million for Americans with disabilities, and $150 million for Native Americans.
Speaking to elderly Trump voters, who depend on HUD programs, Cenk Uygur said, "The jokes' on you." He included veterans in the group Trump appeared to have fooled but allowed that there may be "rich" elderly and veterans who may favor the plan. The host noted that defense contractors would "love" President Trump for the scheme.
Eisenhower: war is a 'theft from those who hunger and are not fed.'
Uygur then quoted former President Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican, who "knew a thing or two about winning wars." President Eisenhower stated that every "gun," "warships," and "Rocket" used in war are a "theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed." The former president described nations spending money on arms spending the "sweat" of their workers, the "genius" of their professors, and the "hopes" of their youth. The TYT host described Eisenhower's words as a "warning" that President Trump seems to have read as a basis for his current plan.