Former President Donald Trump was criticized after a video of him proposing a contest to create ten new "freedom cities" on federal land resurfaced.
At the time, Trump, who said the proposal would “create a new American future” in a country that has “lost its boldness," claimed commuters in these cities could get around in flying cars, a declaration clearly inspired by the 1960s classic cartoon The Jetsons, about a family living in a high-tech futuristic society in which flying cars and robot maids are the norm.
Trump said:
"Almost one third of the land mass of the United States is owned by the federal government with just a very, very small portion of that land, just a fraction, one half of one percent. Would you believe that?"
"We should hold a contest to charter up to 10 new cities and award them to the best proposals for development. In other words, we'll actually build new cities in our country again."
“These freedom cities will reopen the frontier, reignite American imagination, and give hundreds of thousands of young people and other people, all hardworking families, a new shot at home ownership and in fact, the American dream.”
You can hear what Trump said in the video below.
More than nine months after initially posting the video of Trump's remarks, liberal activist Ron Filipkowski posited that no one has asked Trump for further details about his proposal to build new cities "that won't have any regulations."
He added:
"Nobody wants to flesh out the details with him on this?"
Trump was widely criticized in response.
Trump introduced his proposal on the eve of his appearance at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), coinciding with the emergence of potential contenders for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
However, Trump remained silent on the funding mechanism for his latest proposition, leaving a critical question unanswered.
The vague contours of Trump's plan involve several key elements: heightening tariffs on imported goods, offering families "baby bonuses" purportedly designed to stimulate a new baby boom, and launching an initiative focused on enhancing public spaces by removing unappealing structures.
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