Mayors from cities with significant drops in violent crime are uniting against President Trump's claims that their urban areas are crime-ridden. They emphasize that their successes, attributed to youth engagement, gun buyback programs, and community initiatives, contradict Trump's narrative. The mayors, representing the African American Mayors Association, argue that Trump's focus on Black-led cities as crime hotspots is unfounded and politically motivated. With the deployment of National Guard members in Washington, D.C., they see an opportunity to promote their strategies and challenge the misrepresentation of urban safety.
"It gives us an opportunity to say we need to amplify our voices to confront the rhetoric that crime is just running rampant around major U.S. cities. It's just not true," said Van Johnson, mayor of Savannah, Georgia, and president of the African American Mayors Association. "It's not supported by any evidence or statistics whatsoever."
"It was not lost on any member of our organization that the mayors either were Black or perceived to be Democrats," Johnson said. "And that's unfortunate. For mayors, we play with whoever's on the field."
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