A Trump administration official in the Housing and Urban Development Department denied misleading tenants for a video played at the Republican National Convention.
Lynne Patton, the head of the New York office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said in a statement that New York City tenants were aware their criticisms of Mayor Bill de Blasio would be included at the GOP convention. Patton said the video’s purpose was “to increase awareness of the inhumane conditions that Mayor de Blasio has allowed for far too long.”
“Each participated regardless of political party because they recognized the importance of having a voice on the national stage and the undeniable improvements that have transpired under this administration,” Patton told the New York Times. She also said the video was examined for Hatch Act violations and cleared by the White House.
Three of the four tenants used in a video for the Republican convention said they were tricked into making their remarks. Though critical of de Blasio as mayor of the country’s largest city, all three said they opposed President Trump in the upcoming election.
“I am not a Trump supporter,” said Claudia Perez, a tenant in the video. “I am not a supporter of his racist policies on immigration. I am a first-generation Honduran. It was my people he was sending back.”
Perez said she was called by Carmen Quinones, another tenant in the video, who was with Patton at the Frederick Douglass Houses in Manhattan and wanted to speak with residents about the performance of the housing authority. She also said she wanted to see an edited version of her interview with Patton but did not view it until it aired at the convention.
Quinones, who said she plans to vote for Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the election, said she only realized the political nature of the interview after the cameras began taping and the questions were asked.
“It is what it is,” Quinones said in an interview when asked how she felt about potentially being misled. “For me, this was not about party, but for us to make the national stage. They were the only ones that offered. My own party didn’t offer.”
Manny Martinez, a third tenant, said he was given little notice about the interview but gave remarks under the pretense it was an opportunity to air grievances about public housing policies.
“This was not an endorsement of Trump,” he said in an interview.
“Bill de Blasio and the way he has dealt with public housing residents is disgraceful,” Perez is seen saying, later adding that she was appreciative of the Trump administration for “shining a light” on public housing and bringing “real solutions.”
“This mayor has made our lives here, and I think every housing development, very uncomfortable,” Quinones said.
“Under the Trump administration, the New York City housing authority has received an influx of cash that it has not seen since 1997,” Martinez is also showed saying. He later said Patton helped HUD identify “systemic problems” that are being discussed.
Judy Smith, another tenant in the video, was also candid in her criticisms of the Democratic Party.
“I’m grateful for the spotlight that President Trump is putting on New York City public housing. I think it’s wrong that the Democrats put illegal immigrants before black Americans,” Smith said. “How is it that we have people waiting on waiting lists for New York City public housing for 10 years or more, but yet we have illegal immigrants living here? Something is wrong with that picture.”
“The RNC ad attacking @NYCMayor is a cynical attempt to pit Black Americans against immigrants. It’s wrong,” said de Blasio’s press secretary, Bill Neidhardt, on social media after the video aired. “After decades of disinvestment, Mayor de Blasio has made historic investments in NYCHA. But at least this much is true: The Mayor lives rent free in Trump’s head.”
