Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) blamed former President Richard Nixon for the city’s gun violence over Fourth of July weekend.
Nixon passed away in 1994.
“Black death has unfortunately been accepted in this country for a very long time,” Johnson told reporters. “We had a chance 60 years ago to get at the root causes. And people mocked President Johnson, and we ended up with Richard Nixon.”
He did not elaborate further.
The Richard Nixon Foundation responded to the accusation, writing on social media, “Mayor Johnson’s reference to President Nixon is gratuitous and the facts are not on his side in his characterization of Richard Nixon and the Nixon administration’s civil rights record.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, President CEO of the Richard Nixon Foundation Jim Byron said, “Richard Nixon was a champion of civil rights as Vice President and as President. The record is clear.”
He added, “What is happening in Chicago is heartbreaking, and I imagine the people of Chicago want leaders who take responsibility and work together to solve problems rather than try and pass the blame, in this case ridiculously and gratuitously.”
The controversy comes as 100 people were shot over the July 4th weekend in Chicago. Nineteen people were killed.
