Rantz: Seattle Democrats upset that Trump is undoing their failed policies on homelessness
Jul 28, 2025, 5:15 AM

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell can't clean up his own city. Now, he's mad President Donald Trump is trying to clean up his mess. (Photo: Saul Spady)
(Photo: Saul Spady)
Seattle Democrats responsible for the unprecedented rise in homelessness are upset with President Donald Trump’s executive order that undoes their harmful policies.
President Trump’s recent Executive Order, is a direct rebuke to the failed progressive experiments that have crippled Seattle, Spokane, and other left-wing cities. The order rightly dismantles “Housing First” and “Harm Reduction” policies, which have exacerbated homelessness, drug addiction, and lawlessness by prioritizing ideological virtue-signaling over genuine solutions. Democrats who presided over this crisis, particularly in deep-blue enclaves like Seattle, are predictably outraged.
According to , Washington Governor Bob Ferguson criticized the order as “misguided and harmful.” Similarly, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, whose homelessness plan includes stringing backyard lights on Third Avenue and supporting sidewalk murals, claimed that the Trump administration’s plan isn’t practical. What they conveniently ignore is their direct responsibility for the explosion of tents, trash, needles, and human misery that’s overtaken our cities. Their criticisms aren’t just misguided; they’re hypocritical and self-serving.
An end to left-wing policies that made homelessness worse
For years, Democrats in cities across America have adopted policies that romanticize homelessness and drug addiction as lifestyles needing affirmation rather than intervention.
“Harm Reduction” programs hand out free drug paraphernalia 鈥 needles, pipes, cookers 鈥 to addicts, paid for by your tax dollars.
“The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH recently exposed how shockingly easy it was to acquire taxpayer-funded drug kits right here in Seattle. In less than five minutes, I walked away with glass pipes and other fentanyl smoking equipment, no questions asked. These policies do not “reduce harm,” they amplify it. They normalize self-destructive behavior and facilitate addiction rather than offering pathways to recovery.
“Housing First” is equally disastrous.
Ostensibly designed to end homelessness by providing no-strings-attached housing, it fails miserably in practice. My research in my book “What’s Killing America” lays bare the absurdity of “Housing First.” Instead of addressing the root causes 鈥 mental illness, substance abuse, economic instability 鈥 these programs allow problems to fester unchecked. It鈥檚 a simplistic, feel-good strategy that ignores reality: providing shelter without accountability merely relocates the dysfunction indoors.
Trump’s executive order brings sanity to homelessness policy
Trump鈥檚 executive order mandates accountability and requires cities receiving federal funding to enforce laws against public camping, open drug use, and street crime. It finally recognizes what many Democrat politicians refuse to admit: that enabling destructive behaviors isn’t compassionate, it’s cruel.
When we stop normalizing drug addiction and homelessness, we offer real compassion 鈥 access to treatment, mental health services, and genuine rehabilitation programs. Ending harmful policies isn’t political theater. It’s sanity restored.
Cities like Seattle have turned into real-life dystopias precisely because of progressive dogma. Take a walk down Third Avenue downtown or visit any park in Capitol Hill. Needles, garbage, tents, and zombie-like drug users are the direct consequences of the Radical Left’s harmful, misguided policies. Democrat leaders have spent billions of taxpayer dollars perpetuating these failures under the pretense of compassion. They have created a cycle of dependence and decay, and now feign shock when they’re held accountable.
Democrats are outraged at Trump’s homelessness executive order? Who cares?
The reactions from Ferguson, Harrell, and other Democrats are performative outrage.
Their opposition to the executive order is driven not by genuine concern for vulnerable populations, but by a deep-seated desire to protect their ideological and political turf. They oppose Trump’s policy because admitting its effectiveness means acknowledging their own spectacular failures.
Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles 鈥 cities once celebrated for innovation and prosperity 鈥 are now cautionary tales of progressive governance gone awry. Trump’s executive order may be the tough medicine needed to reverse the tide of despair and decay. It demands accountability from local leaders who have long abdicated their responsibilities.
If Democrats were genuinely concerned about homelessness, they’d welcome this order as an opportunity to rethink their catastrophic approach. Instead, they dig in, refusing to acknowledge the obvious truth: their policies have failed. It鈥檚 time to move beyond empty virtue-signaling and embrace real solutions. Ending “Housing First” and “Harm Reduction” isn’t just necessary; it鈥檚 imperative. Trump’s executive order is a step toward genuine compassion and sanity, whether Democrats like it or not.
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