Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot lashed out at White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Thursday, calling her a “Karen” for publicly criticizing the way Chicago has dealt with rising crime in the city.
During a press briefing on Thursday, McEnany said that President Trump is just as concerned about violence in Democratic-run cities as he is with the coronavirus pandemic.
“There are other things the President has to focus on: namely, Democrat cities not controlling their streets; namely, the mayor of Chicago — people dying in her — in her — on the streets of her city every weekend. And the President sent her a letter saying, ‘You must secure your city,‘” McEnany explained.
McEnany went on to call the violence in Chicago “unacceptable,” warning Lightfoot that if she does not do something to address crime, Trump will “take action.”
“The derelict mayor of Chicago should step up and ask for federal help because she’s doing a very poor job at securing her streets,” she said.
In response, Lightfoot told McEnany to “watch her mouth”:
Hey, Karen. Watch your mouth. pic.twitter.com/zhjRyokKD5
— Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) July 16, 2020
Unsurprisingly, Lightfoot refused to address McEnany’s point, which is that her abdication of responsibility has led to an enormous amount of crime and violence in Chicago.
Several users pointed out Lightfoot’s attempt to dodge criticism and urged her to do her job:
Hey Karen, watch your crime infested city. Oh wait. That’s all you do. Watch. Sit.
— Kambree (@KamVTV) July 16, 2020
Or else what? You’ll send the Census Cowboy after her? Do your job.
— Jessica Fletcher (@heckyessica) July 16, 2020
Cool priorities. https://t.co/fPEGsi0jdO
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) July 17, 2020