(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) In a rhetorical gambit that he appeared to borrow from disgraced actor Jussie Smollett, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson conspiratorily accused “right-wing” extremists of creating the immigration crisis that has plagued the city since roughly the start of the Biden administration, the Daily Mail reported.
Before blaming the Right, however Johnson first noted at his Tuesday press conference that he had “inherited” the mess of crime and illegal immigration from a fellow Democrat, former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
“The international crisis that I inherited six months ago, I’ve made it very clear we are going to move people out of police districts, women and children who are living on floors and sleeping outside that we’re going to create spaces that provide more dignity,” he told reporters.
Johnson initially sought to lean into the immigration crisis, even floating the idea of allowing illegals to vote in city elections shortly after winning his own race. But he quickly has been confronted with the realities of leading in the real world versus the abstract world of socialist campaign promises.
Chicago has seen a spike of over 20,000 illegal immigrants in the past 14 months, the vast majority recently having crossed America’s southern border with Mexico.
Though Johnson initially cited Lightfoot and her administration, the primary problem with Chicago, he noted, is the prevalence of “right wing extremism” and racism.
“What we’ve seen is a very raggedy form of right-wing extremism,” Johnson told reporters.
“Everyone knows that the right-wing extremism in this country has targeted democratically run cities and… they have been quite intentional about going after democratically ran cities that are led by people of color,” he claimed.
According to the woke mayor, the extremists intend “to create division and chaos” among their opponents, though he did not elaborate on how they had achieved this end.
Johnson did, however, clarify what he meant by “right wing extremism,” suggesting that his description characterizes anyone who supported or supports former President Donald Trump.
“It’s the same Republican right-wing extremism that stormed the Capitol,” he noted, alluding to Jan. 6 and continuing on to call the party “mean spirited” and “an affront for everything that is good about this country.”
According to Johnson, the Republican Party–which was created as an abolitionist party on the eve of the Civil War–is full of people angry about the emancipation of slaves.
“They’re still mad that a black man is free in this country,” he concluded.
Johnson’s belief that the MAGA boogeyman was targeting the Windy City called to mind Smollett’s January 2019 race hoax, which took place in the city’s Streeterville neighborhood, a posh area just north of the Chicago River and east of Lake Michigan.
Smollett, who is black and gay, claimed to have been assailed by two men who hung a noose around his neck and shouted “This is MAGA country!” despite the fact that Hillary Clinton had garnered more than 83% of the Chicago vote in the previous presidential election.
The struggling Empire actor’s assailants were later proven to be two dark-skinned African acquaintances of his that he had paid to pretend to confront him, presumably to help his career.
