Mayor Bill de Blasio was tasked with managing two crises at once. And he's failed on both counts. As late as March, the mayor was encouraging New Yorkers to go out to the movies and downplaying the threat of the coronavirus. Then, once he became more draconian about the health crisis, he for some reason singled out the Jewish community for violating his stay-at-home orders.
Then came the riots in response to the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. New York has been complete mayhem the past couple of weeks as rioters and looters uproot the city. There are hardly any establishments that haven't been destroyed, and on one particularly distressing evening, protesters ran over police officers. President Trump called out the disorder and urged both the mayor and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to send in the National Guard. They have yet to follow that advice.
Now, having summarized the mayor's behavior, the following video in placed in proper context. At a planned vigil for George Floyd in Brooklyn, de Blasio received a less-than-warm welcome from attendants.
“Let us welcome, with respect, the mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio.”
— Dan Linden (@DanLinden) June 4, 2020
Crowd answers with loud boos at Brooklyn vigil for George Floyd. https://t.co/sRjzb8ejYu pic.twitter.com/nrNbNBa4Rl
As you can see, Rev. Kevin McCall, the organizer who introduced the mayor, had to repeat, "Again, we said respect. Say it with me respect!" He repeated "respect!" several more times. It was probably a wise decision that de Blasio's wife Chirlane McCray spoke first.
At his Friday press conference, the mayor responded to the calls for him to resign. He reminded the reporters that a majority of New Yorkers elected and re-elected him, and that "critics are gonna be critics."
He defiantly said he's not going anywhere.
.@NYCMayor Bill de Blasio says he will “not dignify” the calls for him to resign.
— Melissa Russo (@MelissaRusso4NY) June 5, 2020
Gov. Cuomo also directly blamed the mayor for the city's chaos.
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