U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media aboard Air Force One en route from Florida to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., January 11, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
The cities that President Donald Trump and his allies are targeting for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids — Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and now, Minneapolis — have something in common: They are run by Democrats. And the cities that Trump is singling out have Democratic governors such as California's Gavin Newsom, Illinois' JB Pritzker and Minnesota's Tim Walz.
In an article published on January 12, Politico reporters Blake Jones, Jeremy B. White and Nick Reisman cite fraud allegations as one of the tactics that Trump is using against blue states.
"Donald Trump has found a new way to bludgeon blue states: accuse them of fraud, then move to cut off their money," the journalists explain. "The attacks ramping up across the map — from Albany and Springfield to Denver and Sacramento — follow Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ending his reelection campaign amid allegations of welfare fraud in his state — a case Trump's MAGA allies seized to cast similar aspersions at other Democratic leaders. The Trump Administration cited unproven fraud allegations last week as it put a hold on $10 billion in child care funding to five Democratic-run states."
Jones, White and Reisman add, "The Department of Justice announced it's launching a new division of fraud enforcement, pointing to Minnesota's 'fraud epidemic.' And in California, Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said he's pursuing additional charges of fraud involving state homelessness programs after railing for months against Gov. Gavin Newsom's management of state spending…. The spending-focused line of attack from Trump marks an escalation in Trump’s already red-hot war on blue states."
Democratic New York State Sen. Liz Krueger argues that Trump's attacks on blue states were easy to predict during the 2024 presidential election.
Kreuger told Politico, "I'll say one thing about our president: He told us he was going to do this. He told us he was going to punish blue states. We have to brace for impact, we have to use our legal skills, our amazing attorney general, and endless lawsuits to at least hold them back."
According to U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Illinois), Trump is using a range of methods to attack blue states.
Schneider told Politico, "He's attacking blue states out of revenge. If that's in the form of sending in ICE, he sends in ICE. If it's denying food and education to their children, which to be clear are America's children, he's gonna do that. What he is doing is seeking revenge at the cost of America's most vulnerable people, putting those communities at risk."
Read the full Politico article at this link.