Rantz: Despite CHOP murders and crime surge, Durkan claims all is well on MSNBC

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan claimed on MSNBC Wednesday night that all is well in Seattle, dismissing a speech calling out the city’s ongoing activist crime and mob violence during the infamous “Summer of Love.” It actually continues to this day. But Durkan claims otherwise.

Her statements on MSNBC weren’t just wrong. They were intentionally wrong.

Seattle wasn’t just a national embarrassment due to the deadly CHOP fiasco Durkan created. Literally just last week, Durkan called a press conference to sound the alarms over “significant concerns regarding an increase in arsons, homicides, and shots fired.” But all is well, right?

We had 2 murders at CHOP — which @MayorJenny called a “summer of love”. Last week she held a press conference about an alarming uptick in gun violence and murder. Now watch the video propaganda below. Shameless. https://t.co/6OPVuHfGjv

— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) August 27, 2020

Durkan presented a reality that … doesn’t exist

Rising Republican star Kristi Noem, Governor of South Dakota, opened the RNC Convention on night three. She called out the widespread chaos hitting Democrat-run cities. Durkan was called to MSNBC for a live “reality check” that lacked any semblance of reality.

Noem used Seattle to highlight what Durkan previously (and ludicrously) called the “Summer of Love” after several previous night’s speakers made similar references. The criticism is part of the RNC’s smart strategy to highlight lawlessness that progressive mayors are purposefully ignoring. Noem said:

From Seattle and Portland, to Washington and New York, Democrat-run cities across this country are being overrun by violent mobs. The violence is rampant. There’s looting, chaos, destruction and murder. People that can afford to flee have fled. But the people that can’t — good, hard-working Americans — are left to fend for themselves.

On MSNBC, Durkan had a remarkable response. She pretended we had no issues at all.

“[Noem’s] caricature of the great cities across America is not only wrong, it’s purposefully wrong,” Durkan ironically claimed. “I think she needs to get off Twitter and get off FOX News and come see our city … Our violent crime is down 5% this year.”

Literally just last week, Durkan held a press conference to decry the shocking surge in gun violence.

“Since June 1, there have been 116 shots fired incidents in Seattle,” she said days ago. “That’s up from 75 in the same period last year. These incidents have resulted in 33 injuries and six deaths. They cannot continue.”

What mob?

Then, Durkan made another bizarre claim.

“We have a growing city that has real — you know, the best workforce anywhere and it’s not as portrayed by the president or by Governor Noem. I mean, he tried to make it sound like there were mobs rampant throughout Seattle. That’s not the case,” Durkan said on MSNBC.

Huh? Almost every night there is a literal mob wandering around the streets of Seattle. There was one the night she made the comment.

Sometimes they go from business to business destroying storefronts. Other times, they target white homeowners, demanding they leave their homes and pay reparations. And when they feel uninspired, they engage in their traditional riots and violent attacks on police that Durkan completely ignores.

Except when the mob showed up to Durkan’s home. She didn’t ignore it that time. She tried to get the city council to investigate the councilmember who instigated the mob.

Remember CHOP? And the murder, arson, attempted rape, and assaults?

There’s no doubt that Seattle became a national embarrassment. Violent activists took over a six-block radius known as CHOP, after Durkan ceded the land under threat of violence. She ordered the police to abandon the East Precinct, only emboldening the criminals to act out in even more dangerous ways.

In just a matter of days, CHOP saw vandalism, assault, arson, attempted rape, and ultimately the tragic murder of two young, Black teens. Durkan’s lack of leadership is partly to blame. These murders were preventable, but Durkan didn’t want to get involved.

The violence didn’t stop. Riots still broke out over the following weeks, businesses were destroyed, and officers targeted. Just this week, criminals attempted to seal shut the door to the East Precinct with cement while another group tried to burn the building down. The police station was staffed with officers.

Durkan, like so many other Democrats, wants you to think none of this happened. They didn’t mention any of it during the Democratic Convention. Now it feels like Durkan doesn’t even live here.

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