In an op-ed for the New York Times this Tuesday, columnist Jamelle Bouie argues that when it comes to the politics of "racial control," there's a resemblance between Donald Trump and Michael Bloomberg.
Bouie writes that the Democrats have finally found Trump's "Democratic equivalent" in Bloomberg, who works on the "same signal albeit at a different frequency."
Bloomberg's liberal bonafides are well known with his donations of millions of dollars to liberal causes and Democratic politicians. But his actions during his time as mayor of New York "reveal that he was someone who also saw black and brown people as threats to the security and prosperity of his territory."
"Bloomberg, as many before me have explored in detail, expanded the New York Police Department’s use of 'stop and frisk,' a tactic that empowered police officers to stop, search and interrogate residents on the sole basis of 'reasonable suspicion,'" writes Bouie. "Overall, between 2004 and 2012, the NYPD — which Bloomberg once called his 'own army' while also weirdly claiming that it was the 'seventh biggest army in the world' — stopped 4.4 million New York residents. The vast majority, more than 80 percent, were black and brown people, especially young men and boys."
Muslims in New York received similar treatment during Bloomberg's time as mayor, Bouie writes. Under Bloomberg, the NYPD "spied on and surveilled New York Muslims, using both informants and undercover agents to gather information from inside mosques and restaurants, neighborhoods and social groups."
According to Bouie, if Bloomberg wins the presidency, liberals should fear him in the White House just as they fear another term for President Trump.
Read the full op-ed over at the New York Times.
