Trump dismisses virus aid for cities, lashes out at GOP

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday dismissed Democratic demands to include aid for cash-strapped cities in a new coronavirus relief package and lashed out at Republicans, saying they should “go back to school” if they reject money for a new FBI building in downtown Washington, D.C.

Trump, speaking alongside Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at the White House, signaled his interest in preventing an eviction crisis as a federal moratorium expires Friday on millions of apartment units. But he and his top emissary to Congress portrayed an otherwise dismal outlook as negotiations drag ahead of looming deadlines.

“It’s a shame to reward badly run radical left Democrats with all of this money they’re looking for,” Trump said at the White House, complaining about the “big bailout money” for cities.

Trump was publicly critical of his GOP allies over the $1.7 billion for FBI headquarters that's included in the bill, but which Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell later said he opposes as not related to virus relief. The president wants to keep the building that sits across the street from his signature Trump International Hotel, which could face competition if the FBI moves and another hotel is developed there.

At the White House on Wednesday, Trump said the FBI building should remain in Washington, near the Justice Department. He added: "It’s the best piece of property in Washington. I’m very good at real estate. So I said, we’ll build a new FBI building. Let’s build a new FBI building, either a renovation of existing or even better would be a new building.”

“Republicans should go back to school and learn," he said. ”You need a new building.”

Trump's comments came a day after he dismissed the GOP's COVID-19 package as...