Reflections

What the Syracuse city flag asks of President Trump during his visit, Part I

This is Trump's first visit to Syracuse since the city adopted its flag in 2023. The flag will engage him in a conversation, and I've got some idea how it will go.

Photo by Sean Foster / Unsplash

When Trump visits Syracuse, he’s coming to ask for something: votes for his ally Bruce Blakeman, the Republican running for governor [1], and for other Republicans on the November ballot [2][3].

Whether or not Trump knows it, the Syracuse city flag asks him something first. It opens a conversation the moment he crosses the city line. It's automatic. I expect that if he joins the conversation, his response will not be the right one.

The flag asks a question of those who enter Syracuse

The question is the same for everyone, regardless of political party.

“What do you bring to this place and the people who share it?”

You answer with how you treat your neighbors and strangers, what you protect, what you neglect, and what you choose when times are hard.

Syracuse residents decided what the correct answer to that question is

When the flag was one of four finalists in the city’s redesign competition, I shared its values with everyone voting [4]. Among the many values I had in mind were hope in the face of hardship, care for people who are struggling, a place for everyone to belong, and respect for our land and waterways. The people chose the flag knowing them [4][5]. By voting for this flag, they set the measure: a correct answer reinforces these values, and it’s judged by what a person does.

Trump has consistently given the wrong answer to that question

What follows is the record as of October 2026, measured against the above values.

Can Trump bring hope to Syracuse when times are hard?

Nearly 46 percent of the city’s children live in poverty, one of the highest rates in the nation [6][7]. In March 2025, Trump’s USDA canceled two programs that helped food banks and schools buy from local farms, saying the pandemic era was over [8][9]. Brady Farm on the South Side had used that money to give food at no cost to about 340 families [9], and the Food Bank of Central New York lost about $2 million, enough for over a million pounds of local food [10].

Then his allies in Congress passed, and Trump signed, the 2025 budget law that required parents of teenagers to meet SNAP work rules and ended automatic SNAP eligibility for refugees, and more than 5,000 Onondaga County residents have already lost benefits [11][12][13].

That’s Trump's answer to our city during a time when hope could make a real difference in a child’s life.

Will Trump care for Syracusans who are struggling?

Under the 2025 budget law his allies in Congress passed and Trump signed, people without permanent resident status were due to start losing federally funded Medicaid on October 1, 2026, though the state plans to move them into state programs. Starting in January 2027, adults 19 to 64 face new work requirements and renewals every six months, down from twelve, unless they qualify for an exemption, according to Onondaga County [11]. About 126,000 county residents are on Medicaid [11]. Syracuse.com projects the changes could leave more than 30,000 Central New Yorkers without insurance within two years and cost the city’s three hospital systems as much as $65 million a year [14].

That’s Trump's answer to the people in this city who are struggling with healthcare.

Will Trump allow Syracuse to provide a safe place and a better life to people who need one?

When Trump suspended the refugee program in January 2025, Catholic Charities of Onondaga County lost the 90 refugees it expected by the end of February [15]. By March its funding had been affected, and staff were laid off or furloughed [16]. It wasn’t the first time: after his first-term restrictions, resettlement in Syracuse dropped about 75 percent, from more than a thousand people a year [17]. He has argued the same money does more good helping refugees overseas [18], but a leaked 2017 draft from the federal health department estimated that refugees brought in $63 billion more in government revenue than they cost between 2005 and 2014, and the White House didn't release it [18][19]. Syracuse has welcomed refugees fleeing danger for more than 40 years [20]. Under Trump, that welcome has been cut back twice.

That’s Trump's answer to the people who came to this city for safety and a better life.

Will Trump respect CNY's land and water?

In March 2025, Trump signed an order directing the Forest Service to raise timber production on national forests by 25% [21][22]. That includes the Finger Lakes National Forest, New York’s only national forest, about 16,000 acres southwest of Syracuse [21][23]. Our senators cite reports that staff cuts have left a handful of rangers to oversee it, and they warn more logging could harm habitat and increase runoff into Seneca and Cayuga lakes [24][25].

In August 2026, Trump signed an order directing the federal government to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America,” part of his trade fight with Canada [26]. The lake borders New York, and the water that leaves Onondaga Lake flows north toward it [27]. Canada’s prime minister said the name is more than 400 years old, and Gov. Hochul said New York won’t use the new one [28]. A shared lake became a bargaining chip.

That’s Trump's answer to how much he respects our land and waters.

Hope. Care. Belonging. Respect for our land and waterways. The actions of Trump and his allies have not reinforced these values. As of now, his answers have brought Syracuse cuts, closed doors, and a new name for a lake. I expect this pattern to continue.