Mayor Harrell clarifies comments after appearing to praise ‘innovators’ surrounding Trump

Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office is clarifying comments he made during last week’s “State of Downtown” event.

“We know that our current president surrounds himself with some of the smartest innovators around. When we drop names like Andreessen, or Peter Thiel, or David Sachs, or Elon Musk, these are smart innovators,” said Harrell.

Now the Mayor’s spokesperson is walking those comments back, though insists it’s not the full context.

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Response from the mayor’s office

“The mayor was not praising them, he was referencing they have an objective reputation as leaders in technology and innovation, and that it is a danger they are in the president’s orbit,” said the spokesperson in a statement to MyNorthwest. “He certainly doesn’t agree with their politics, which is why he highlighted this through concerns around the actions coming out of DC like significant staffing cuts impacting cybersecurity and the degradation of protections and questions over access to personal data.”

But this wouldn’t have been the first time Harrell has offered comments about a willingness to work with the Trump administration.

During a Washington Technology Industry Association event, the mayor said he was looking “for opportunities no matter who’s in the White House. ” And in an interview with KIRO Newsradio, he indicated an openness to immigration policies “coming out of the White House that we want to embrace.”

“I’ll meet with the US Conference of Mayors,” Harrell said at the time. “There are many mayors dealing with the exact same issues… deportation, ICE raids, families being relocated. All of this stuff that can go into a very aggressive approach and not looking at individuals. No one wants criminals here. I mean, there’s no disagreement on that. We want to make sure that we are protecting everybody, but we need a calibration of policy.”

Later, in the State of the City speech, he did, however, blast Trump for “unconstitutional executive orders,” and funding cuts.

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