(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has attributed the 100 people shot in the city over the July 4 weekend to an unexpected culprit: President Richard Nixon.
Over the weekend, approximately 100 individuals were shot, resulting in at least 19 deaths, according to the Chicago Sun-Times
Speaking at a press conference addressing the rampant shootings, Johnson, a Democrat, suggested that these incidents stem from a broader issue of federal neglect of poor cities.
“Black death has been unfortunately accepted in this country for a very long time,” he began, before invoking Nixon, the 37th president. “We had a chance 60 years ago to get at the root causes and people mocked President [Lyndon B.] Johnson and we ended up with [President] Richard Nixon.”
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
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 8, 2024
It is unclear how Nixon could be held responsible for the deaths of Chicagoans nearly 50 years after leaving office and 30 years after passing.
Nevertheless, Johnson pledged to transform the city into “a better, stronger, safer Chicago. I need everybody to step up and help us do that.”
In response to the shootings, Johnson called on the federal government to intervene and promised to hold those responsible accountable for “wreaking havoc on my streets.”
Continuing, he added, “We need to ensure that we are holding every single individual accountable for the pain and trauma and the torment that they have caused in this city. There will be consequences for the violence. We will not let criminal activity ruin and harm our city.”
Johnson became Chicago’s mayor in May 2023 after former Mayor Lori Lightfoot failed to qualify for her re-election runoff.
According to the Sun-Times, Johnson’s Monday remarks represent a significant shift from his earlier focus on youth programs and addressing the root causes of crime, proposals often championed by leftists.
One possible reason for Johnson’s strong reaction to the recent shootings is that 10 of the incidents occurred in his own neighborhood, the Austin police district on Chicago’s West Side.
