On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Cuomo Primetime,” Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan (D) stated that in the city, there are four blocks that are “more like a block party atmosphere” and “We could have the summer of love.”
Durkan said, “We’ve got four blocks in Seattle that you just saw pictures of that is more like a block party atmosphere. It’s not an armed takeover. It’s not a military junta. We will make sure that we can restore this. But we have block parties and the like in this part of Seattle all the time. It’s known for that. So, I think the president, number one, there is no threat right now to the public. And we’re looking, we’re taking that very seriously. We’re meeting with businesses and residents. But what the president threatened is illegal and unconstitutional, and the fact that he can think he can just tweet that and not have ramifications is just wrong.”
Host Chris Cuomo then asked, “The counter will be, block parties don’t take over a municipal building, let alone a police station and destroy it, basically thumbing their nose at any sense of civic control. Do you believe that you have control of your city and that you would be able to clear those streets? Because you haven’t.”
Durkan responded, “We do. And the chief of police was in that precinct today with her command staff looking and assessing operational plans. But we saw that it was a point of conflict night after night between the police department and protesters, and we wanted to de-escalate that, and what we decided was the best way to do that was reopen the streets. And that itself ended up with some ramifications for the precinct to remove anything that was valuable from out of that building. But we will make sure that all of Seattle is safe. We take public safety seriously. But the description the president has given is not only wrong. But if it were right, his remedy is wrong. You don’t ‘dominate[.]’ Remember why we’re here. You know, we’re here because the nation saw Mr. Floyd murdered. And that lit a match across this country. And we have to acknowledge and know that we have a system that is built on systemic racism and we have to dismantle that system piece by piece. We have to empower the black community and communities of color. And we have to invest in their health and their safety and their education and opportunity.” She later added that people are protesting “a system of domination.”
Cuomo then asked about criticisms that she is tolerating people on the left running “free on the streets.”
Durkan answered, “So, Chris, as you know, I was a United States attorney here in Seattle, and during that time as United States attorney, we investigated and prosecuted a whole range of bad actors, including militia groups and drug cartels, anarchists, and the like. We are — we have our public safety approach in one way. And during this time, a number one priority every American city has is to protect the First Amendment right. Our country was born out of protest. The right to gather, the right to protest, the right to challenge government when it’s wrong is our most fundamental constitutional right. It’s a reason it’s the First Amendment. And as a mayor of the city, I will do everything to protect that right and balance the public safety. I think not only can we do both, I think we have to do both.”
Durkan also stated that she wishes the White House would give them something positive on either the “public crisis” of coronavirus, or “the public crisis we’re facing right now on systemic racism.” She further criticized Trump for not providing Seattle with needed testing capacity, ability to have treatments, and PPE for public servants and for failing to set up a mechanism to distribute a vaccine.
Cuomo later asked, “How long do you think Seattle, and those few blocks, looks like this?”
Durkan responded, “I don’t know. We could have the summer of love.”
She further stated that “the police will be policing in there.”
(h/t Grabien)
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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