Inner cities are actually thriving, and Donald Trump probably knows it
At debates and rallies, Donald Trump has painted a picture of America in chaos, claiming "inner cities" are "a disaster education-wise, job-wise, safety-wise, in every possible way" and claiming "you walk down the street, you get shot." Trump, of course, offers himself as the solution — the person who can make America great again.
But according to the numbers, he's flat out wrong. So-called "inner cities" are actually flourishing and Trump probably knows it:
But when it comes to talking to voters, it doesn't matter that what Trump is saying is inaccurate, historian N. D.B. Connolly pointed out. "What it does is it conjures a narrative about what happened in America during and after the 1960s,” Connolly told The New York Times. "The inner city is the place that burned when King was assassinated. It was Watts. It was the place Ronald Reagan had to try to conduct the war on drugs." And it is just one more place to make great again.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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