President Donald Trump is taking clear steps to weaken major Democratic-leaning cities, which are key centers opposing his policies. He’s doing this by limiting their independence and reducing their political power.
Recently, Trump has pushed several high-profile moves, like trying to take control of law enforcement in Washington, DC, pressuring some states to redraw congressional districts in his favor, and even talking about redoing the 2020 census—a highly unusual move.
These new actions add to ongoing pressures on big cities, including tough immigration enforcement, cutting federal funding to universities that drive local economies, and threatening to withhold money from cities that don’t follow his conservative policies on issues like immigration, education, homelessness, and policing.
This approach comes at a time when big metropolitan areas are driving much of the nation’s economic growth, especially in technology fields like artificial intelligence, which Trump has said is crucial for competing globally. Yet, instead of supporting these cities, Trump sees them more as political opponents to be controlled.
Experts like Mark Muro from the Brookings Institution describe Trump’s tactics as “colonial” — wanting to profit from these cities’ economic success but stripping away their independence. He said the administration treats these economic powerhouses like troublesome colonies instead of vital parts of the country’s future.
Trump has often criticized Democratic-led cities, calling some of them “rodent-infested” and “hellholes.” Still, in the 2024 election, he performed better in many large cities than before, thanks partly to voters unhappy with President Biden’s handling of inflation, immigration, and crime.
But big cities remain strongholds for Democrats, making them natural targets for Trump’s efforts to weaken their influence. His recent actions clearly aim to limit their power to resist his agenda.
One major way Trump is exerting control is by sending federal law enforcement and military forces into cities against local leaders’ wishes. During his first term, he sent federal agents to Portland and DC after protests in 2020. After leaving office, Trump said he wished he had sent even more forces to cities. In his 2024 campaign, he promised to deploy the National Guard and even active-duty military to tackle crime, homelessness, and immigration enforcement in big cities.
In practice, he’s followed through: when protests erupted in Los Angeles over immigration raids, Trump sent the National Guard and Marines, despite opposition from California’s governor. These forces didn’t just protect federal buildings—they also accompanied immigration agents on enforcement raids, including heavily armed troops in Latino neighborhoods.
ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has focused much of its street-level immigration enforcement in blue cities, while red states see more removals from jails. The administration blames sanctuary policies for this imbalance, but civil rights groups see it as a way to intimidate local officials and immigrant communities. ICE even staged a raid outside Governor Newsom’s press conference, deepening tensions.
This aggressive enforcement is already hurting blue cities. A recent study found California lost about 750,000 private-sector jobs between May and July 2025, with Hispanic and Asian workers most affected. Sociologist Ed Flores says this drop is linked to ICE’s street arrests and their economic impact. New York City has also seen fewer Hispanic men in the workforce.
As the military presence in LA winds down, Trump has deployed hundreds of National Guard troops to DC and is using a federal law to take temporary control of the city’s police. He hinted he might send troops to other cities with high crime rates and Black mayors like Chicago, New York, Baltimore, and Oakland.
Legal experts say Trump faces big challenges trying to copy the DC deployment elsewhere. DC’s National Guard is under the president’s control, unlike most states where governors command the Guard. Without governors’ approval, Trump would need to federalize the Guard or use active-duty troops—but federal troops are banned from law enforcement under the Posse Comitatus Act, unless he invokes the rarely used Insurrection Act.
If Trump uses the Insurrection Act, it would break long-standing limits on military involvement in policing, but some think the current Supreme Court might allow it. This could let Trump justify military action in cities by calling it a response to “domestic violence” and threats to public safety.
Deploying military forces in cities risks serious problems. Fresno’s Mayor Jerry Dyer warns it could cause conflicts with local officials and erode community trust. And experts fear that normalizing armed troops patrolling American streets would erode civil liberties and resemble tactics used in authoritarian countries.
Beyond law enforcement, Trump is also targeting cities politically through redistricting and the census. In Texas, Republicans are redrawing maps to reduce representation for fast-growing Democratic metro areas like Dallas, Houston, and Austin, despite these cities driving most of the state’s growth.
This strategy dilutes urban voters’ influence and benefits rural, more conservative areas. Similar tactics are used in other growing states like Florida, where population gains in diverse cities don’t translate into fair political power because districts are drawn to favor Republicans.
Trump’s call to “redo” the 2020 census—possibly excluding undocumented immigrants—could further weaken cities. Although excluding undocumented people might not change national political balances much, it would reduce representation and federal funding for urban areas with large immigrant populations, shifting resources toward rural areas.
Experts warn cities and blue states should not assume Trump won’t try these extreme moves. An internal Homeland Security memo said the ICE-National Guard missions in Los Angeles will be a model for future operations, meaning these conflicts could last for years.
As one historian noted, just like the long siege of Leningrad in World War II, big blue cities might be bracing for a long, tough struggle ahead during Trump’s second term.
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