Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson appeared to suggest President Richard Nixon was to blame for the city’s pervasive gun violence problem.
More than 100 people were injured in shootings in Chicago, at least 19 of them fatally, over the Fourth of July weekend, when there is often a spike in gun violence.
“We are standing here today talking about a violent weekend because of generations of disinvestment and deep disenfranchisement in the exact communities where so much of the violence has taken place,” Johnson, a Democrat who took office last year, said during a press conference on Monday.
Over 100 people were shot in Chicago last weekend, including 18 fatally.
Mayor Brandon Johnson blamed it on Richard Nixon in his press conference today.
No, that is not a joke. pic.twitter.com/dorETLl5os
“We are here to say emphatically that this is enough,” he said. “It’s enough. When this reckless violence ravages across our city at this magnitude, we are losing a piece of the soul of Chicago.”
During the press conference, Johnson said he has taken steps to ensure Chicago is receiving enough federal resources. And he urged federal authorities to respond to mass shootings in Chicago “just like they do in other places in this country.”
Later, a reporter asked Johnson if he had heard any gunfire from the 10 shootings that took place over the long weekend in the neighborhood on the city’s West Side where the mayor and his family live.
“As beautiful as Austin is, it’s a neighborhood that unfortunately has been neglected over the course of decades,” Johnson said. “Of course, we hear shots.”
hicago Mayor Brandon Johnson attends the drivers meeting at the Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165 at Chicago Street Course on July 7, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois….
hicago Mayor Brandon Johnson attends the drivers meeting at the Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165 at Chicago Street Course on July 7, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Johnson blamed President Richard Nixon for his city’s pervasive gun violence problem.
Meg Oliphant/Getty Images
He then said: “What we’ve experienced over the weekend is unacceptable and we didn’t get here overnight. But everyone knows that. Let’s tell the full story of how we got here… the fact of the matter is where there is most violence, that’s where the poverty is most pervasive.”
He continued: “We got to hold people accountable, but you know what my ultimate goal is? It’s to transform this city so we cut off the pipeline of boys between the ages of 10 and 19 being either victims or the perpetrators. So yeah, it is personal.
“Black death has been unfortunately been accepted in this country for a very long time. We had a chance 60 years ago to get at the root causes. And people mocked President Johnson, and we ended up with Richard Nixon. I’m going to work hard every day to transform this city. That’s what it takes to build a better, stronger, safer Chicago.”
Johnson did not elaborate further on his remarks about Nixon. His office has been contacted for comment via email.
The Richard Nixon Foundation responded to Johnson’s remarks on social media.
“Mayor Johnson’s reference to President Nixon is gratuitous and the facts are not on his side in his characterization of Richard Nixon and the Nixon administration’s civil rights record,” the foundation wrote in a thread on X, formerly Twitter, along with a list of the administration’s accomplishments.
Mayor Johnson’s reference to President Nixon is gratuitous and the facts are not on his side in his characterization of Richard Nixon and the Nixon administration’s civil rights record.
Here are the facts: 🧵 https://t.co/bWBx5v7DJd
Clips of Johnson’s comments also went viral on X, where they received some backlash.
“Over 100 people were shot in Chicago last weekend, including 18 fatally. Mayor Brandon Johnson blamed it on Richard Nixon in his press conference today,” one person wrote in a post on X that received almost 2 million views. “No, that is not a joke.”
Johnson’s comments are “a desperate distraction,” another X user wrote. “Leadership requires addressing present issues, not deflecting to the past.”
Another person wrote that Johnson’s “attempt to shift blame is just disgusting. President Nixon isn’t to blame for you and your Democrat predecessors turning the great city of Chicago into a crime-ridden s*******.”
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