Trump showed his disapproval of the situation on Twitter.
NYC is cutting Police $’s by ONE BILLION DOLLARS, and yet the @NYCMayor is going to paint a big, expensive, yellow Black Lives Matter sign on Fifth Avenue, denigrating this luxury Avenue. This will further antagonize New York’s Finest, who LOVE New York & vividly remember the....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2020
....horrible BLM chant, “Pigs In A Blanket, Fry ‘Em Like Bacon”. Maybe our GREAT Police, who have been neutralized and scorned by a mayor who hates & disrespects them, won’t let this symbol of hate be affixed to New York’s greatest street. Spend this money fighting crime instead!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2020
De Blasio responded in a tweet showing his support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
"Here's what you don't understand: Black people BUILT 5th Ave and so much of this nation," the mayor said. "Your 'luxury' came from THEIR labor, for which they have never been justly compensated. We are honoring them. The fact that you see it as denigrating your street is the definition of racism."
The mayor also said a majority of the NYPD are people of color.
You also don’t know that NY’s Finest are now a majority people of color. They already know Black Lives Matter.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) July 1, 2020
There is no “symbol of hate” here. Just a commitment to truth.
Only in your mind could an affirmation of people’s value be a scary thing.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo commented on the proposed Black Lives Matter "sign" that would go up on Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower.
"Great, I said from day one I stand with the protesters," Cuomo said. "I said from day one I stand with Black Lives Matter."
City Council passed the New York City budget late Tuesday night, a budget which includes redistributing $1 billion from the NYPD budget.
Earlier this week, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the massive police department cuts and reduced expenses as part of NYPD reform.
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