Blame...Nixon? 100 People Shot in Chicago Over the Holiday Weekend, Mayor Blames Richard Nixon [Watch]

After more than 100 people were shot in Chicago last weekend, 19 of them fatally (including a police officer), Windy City Mayor Brandon Johnson pointed to an unlikely culprit — 37th President of the United States Richard Nixon.

“What we’ve experienced over the weekend is unacceptable and we didn’t get here overnight. And everyone knows that. Let’s tell the full story of what happened,” Johnson told reporters on Monday. “Black death has unfortunately been accepted in this country for a very long time.”

“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.”

Johnson didn’t get into details as to why Nixon was to blame, exactly.

Watch the clip below:

Over 100 people were shot in Chicago last weekend, including 18 fatally.

Mayor Brandon Johnson blamed it on Richard Nixon in his press conference today.

No, that is not a joke. pic.twitter.com/dorETLl5os

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 8, 2024

The Nixon Foundation responded to Johnson’s claim, calling it “gratuitous” and stressed “the facts are not on his side.”

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.

Here are the facts: 🧵 https://t.co/bWBx5v7DJd

— Richard Nixon Foundation (@nixonfoundation) July 9, 2024

Chicago has one of the worst crime rates of any city in the country, according to the World Population Review. Violent crime rose to a 12-year high in 2023; homicide rates have thus far dropped in 2024 but are still considerably higher than rates in 2014, according to CBS News.