Donald Trump fielded a question about the war with Iran during an unrelated White House event on Monday afternoon, and as is often the case, the president responded with a meandering, five-minute answer that touched on a variety of subjects that had nothing to do with the initial subject.
But it’s where this particular tangent ended up that matters.
Trump: “Look at the blue cities. What do they have in common? They’re all dirty. They’re filthy dirty. Their streets are dirty. Their streets smell. Their storefronts are broken. Their trees are all gross. Everything about the place is dirty. It’s really all of them.”
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-08-03T18:28:57.857Z
“Like, look at the blue cities,” the Republican said. “What do they have in common, aside from massive crime? Much more crime. The Republicans have very little crime. But what do the blue cities have in common? And also, you can say this with nations, when they go bad, the blue cities have something in common— crime, high crime, vicious, violent crime — but what do they have in common?
“They’re all dirty. They’re filthy, dirty. Their streets are dirty, their streets smell, their storefronts are broken, their trees are all gross. Everything about the place is dirty, and I don’t want to mention any specific city. It’s really all of them.”
In case that weren’t quite enough, the president soon after added that he considers cities led by Democratic officials to be “disgusting.”
For those who keep an eye on Trump’s day-to-day activities, the rhetoric probably wasn’t too surprising, but his tirade was a timely reminder that the incumbent president doesn’t just favor cities and states that voted for him; he also expresses routine contempt for communities filled with Americans he sees as unworthy of resources, support or even some modicum of respect.
I’m trying to imagine what would happen if Barack Obama or Joe Biden publicly declared their disgust and disdain for Republican-led areas of their own country. It’s a safe bet the reaction would be overwhelming, and for good reason: Presidents are supposed to represent the interests of the United States, not the parts filled with voters they like.
Trump, however, shares his revulsion toward many American cities and states with such frequency that it has become little more than the background noise of our civic lives.
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Steve Benen
Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”
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