Bloomberg Campaign Press Release - Mike Bloomberg: Donald Trump Didn't Keep His Promises, and America's Infrastructure Is Suffering as a Result

On the same day he unveiled his 21st Century Infrastructure Plan, Mike released a new ad showcasing Trump's broken promises on infrastructure

WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg released a new digital ad on Wednesday targeting President Trump for his failure to act to improve the nation's infrastructure. In the three years since his election, Trump has failed to provide much-needed funds, leaving America's transportation network, air and water quality, energy, shipping, and more in worse shape than before he took office. Mike highlighted the president's failures on the same day that he released his own plan to bring America's infrastructure into the 21st century.

"We urgently need federal leadership to repair and modernize America's transportation system, upgrade our power grid, and address the water crisis harming so many communities. Instead, infrastructure has become a prime example of President Trump's inability to bring people together and get things done," said Mike Bloomberg. "As a candidate, Donald Trump promised to deliver an infrastructure bill in his first 100 days in office. Three years later, he has delivered nothing. Candidate Trump complained that politicians 'only know how to talk' about infrastructure – but no politician has talked more about infrastructure, with less results to show for it, than President Trump. Instead of working to forge consensus and deliver the funding we need, President Trump has done what he always does: blame other people for his own failures. We can't afford four more years of empty promises and finger-pointing. We need to invest in America, and that requires real leadership. The plan we're releasing today will make our infrastructure smarter, faster, safer, and greener – and I have a track record of success to show I can get it done."

The new digital ad details numerous statements made by the president around infrastructure. In 2015, then-candidate Trump declared in a tweet, "the only one to fix the infrastructure of our country is me – roads, airports, bridges. I know how to build, pols only know how to talk!" But the opposite has proven true:

• At his inauguration, President Trump promised that "We will build new roads, and highways, and bridges, and airports, and tunnels, and railways all across our wonderful nation."
• Following his inauguration, he called for a "great national infrastructure program" that would create "millions" of new jobs.
• On May 15, 2017, the Trump Administration promised to unveil a $1 trillion infrastructure plan within the coming weeks. No plan was released that year.
• On June 5, 2017, President Trump kicked off his first official "Infrastructure Week" with a military band, souvenir pens for lawmakers, and no infrastructure plan. The dignitaries assembled with pomp and circumstance to watch Trump sign what the Los Angeles Times called "routine letters to Congress."
• On August 15, 2017, President Trump claimed victory on infrastructure by eliminating a federal standard that required recipients of federal funds to consider water level rise when building in flood zones, putting new American infrastructure at heightened risk of climate change and extreme weather.
• On October 11, 2017, Trump administration Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao spoke to the American Public Transportation Association and "offered few concrete details as to how [the administration] would implement Trump's proposal or even when it would arrive."
• On February 12, 2018, President Trump announced a $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan, the vast majority of which (~86%) would not be funded by the federal government, and included provisions cutting federal infrastructure spending by more than what he proposed to add.
• On March 29, 2018, President Trump travelled to Ohio ostensibly to tout his progress on infrastructure, but Congress had only allocated a little more than 1% of the president's ask.
• In April of 2019, administration spokeswoman Sarah Sanders released a statement: "The president looks forward to working together in a bipartisan way and getting things done for the American people." Nine months later, no progress has been made.

Mike also spoke at The United States Conference of Mayors winter meeting in Washington, DC, where he drew a sharp contrast between the commitment he has made to expanding and improving the nation's infrastructure, both as mayor of New York City, and through his philanthropic work, and the President's lack of progress on the issue.

Mike's plan equips and empowers local officials to address critical issues, acknowledging that not only do mayors best understand their infrastructure needs, but also that job creation, economic development, and efforts to fight climate change are most effective at the local level. The plan invests more than a trillion dollars in funding to state and local governments and includes investments tied to clear goals: better roads, safer bridges, clean air and water, and reliable power and broadband for everyone.