← The Joy Reid Show
The Joy Reid Show
Chicago Mayor Defends His City From Trump Lies | The Joy Reid Show, Aug 29, 2025
00:41:41
Loading summary
Transcript85 lines
- [00:00]
Expedia Narrator
Olivia loves a challenge. It's why she lifts heavy weights and likes complicated recipes. But for booking her trip to Paris, Olivia chose the easy way with Expedia. She bundled her flight with a hotel to save more. Of course, she still climbed all 674 steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower. You were made to take the easy route. We were made to easily package your trip. Expedia made to travel flight inclusive packages are atoll protected.
- [00:35]
Interviewer Assistant
Okay.
- [00:42]
Joy Reid
Welcome to the Joy Reid Show. With the Trump regime threatening to invade Chicago or even arrest the mayor on the claim that crime is so out of control they need federal or even military intervention. An idea completely refuted by the actual statistics, by the way, but also as a continuation of their zeal to kidnap, detain, and deport as many immigrants as possible, including in blue sanctuary cities, the Joy Reid show traveled to Chicago this month to speak to Mayor Brandon Johnson for ourselves. Take a look.
- [01:14]
Interviewer
Mayor Johnson, thank you so much for having us here.
- [01:15]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
Joy, of course. Welcome to Chicago, the greatest city in the world.
- [01:18]
Interviewer
Thank you. What a beautiful office. It is just so interesting being in here with all of the things that are representing you. Your beautiful family, your flag, your photos with President Biden, and it just sort of. But I have to point out the thing behind me, which is my favorite thing that's in this room, which is that drum kit. And I know from now, personal experience and seeing it on Instagram, that you are quite the drummer. Talk a little bit about how long.
- [01:44]
Joy Reid
You been playing the drums.
- [01:45]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
Well, that's very complimentary. Quite the drummer. First of all, I haven't played really in nearly 27 years. When my wife and I married, I moved on from my father's ministry. And like in all tradition, PKs are responsible for the growth and development and services of a church. And, you know, one of the things that I was just drawn towards as a child were the drums. My uncle Barney played the drums for his father, my grandfather, and he was the coolest uncle because he was the youngest uncle. And. And I just took a liking to it and enjoyed it as my time as a member and serving in my father's ministry. But unfortunately, just over the course of the years didn't necessarily keep up the skill set and thought, why not after 27 years, have not played the drums. I go to my wife and I say, look, I'm thinking about doing this in front of thousands of people. And like every idea that I brought to her that causes great deal of consternation and trauma, she put the thumbs up, though, and said, Go for it. It was a lot of fun. Look, gospel music has strong roots right here in the city of Chicago. And the gospel fest this year was just absolutely remarkable. Just gave me a glimpse of what it was like, you know, growing up my childhood, going to the gospel fest year after year and then having the opportunity to play the drums at the gospel fest was truly an honor.
- [03:11]
Interviewer
And I'll say the comments were actually quite complimentary. So I think you're not giving yourself enough credit. People were loving you, at least on the gram. You know, the big headline though, of course, since we're here, is the three mayors. Lots of people talking about yourself. Randall Woodfin, Woodfin in Birmingham and the other Brandon, Brandon Scott in Baltimore. And what you all have managed to do when it comes to crime reduction. We know that. So certain people, certain parties love to zero in on Chicago and they love to talk about crime in Chicago. It's one of their favorite topics. But it's down crime and shootings specifically down significantly in all three of these cities. How?
- [03:55]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
Yeah, first of all, you know, crime is down in Chicago in a very dramatic way, quite frankly. Homicides are down 30 plus percent, as you mentioned. Shootings and shooting victims are down almost 40%. Robberies are down 34%. Overall, violent crime as a whole has reduced in the city of Chicago. In fact, violent crime has been trending down since I've taken office. And the case that I made was pretty straightforward. We have to ensure that the neighborhoods that have been historically disinvested in were poverty. Unfortunately, joy reflects some developing nations. And when poverty is that pervasive, it does draw and attract trauma, which leads to violence. And there are 35 beats in the city of Chicago that have historically, that have historically been the most violent beats in Chicago. These are the neighborhoods where schools were closed, public housing was shut down, unemployment is high. And I pulled together everyone that said, I said, let's roll up our sleeves. Let's go right into these communities and provide support and resources. And so here are the few things that we said that we had to do right away. First of all, I had to promote 200 more detectives and revamp our entire detectives bureau because one of the things that is actually quite frustrating is when violence happens and we don't bring closure.
- [05:15]
Interviewer Assistant
Right?
- [05:15]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
And so with more detectives, as well as an additional innovation in our bureau, it's given us the tools that we need to provide closure. 80% of the violent crimes that have taken place, we have been able to bring closure to with our detectives division. But it's not just policing. It's also about investing in young people. And I know, you know, Mayor Scott and Mayor Woodfin both have that same motivation. Just this year, we purpose to hire 29,000 young people for summer jobs. Well, we, we ended up hiring 30,134 young people for summer jobs. We also expanded mental and behavioral healthcare services. Mental health clinics have been shut down by previous administrations. I've reopened three. And then finally, the case for affordability.
- [06:04]
Interviewer Assistant
Right.
- [06:05]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
Stabilizing our communities to ensure that we have more affordable units. So in other words, it's policing and youth employment. Policing and behavioral mental health care services. Policing and affordability. I believe the ultimate desire and the goal is to ensure that we have safe, affordable neighborhoods across this country. That's my motivation to build the safest, most affordable big city in America. And so far, the work is working.
- [06:30]
Interviewer
And, you know, one of the things I think that frightened maybe some moderates and conservatives about you when you were running is this idea that you were going to really cut the police force, that you, you're going to reduce policing. That is, Is that the way. Has that come in tandem with reducing crime or have you wound up, as mayor, increasing funding?
- [06:51]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
Well, we certainly have given our police officers raises. Look, the other thing that I think is critical for safe and affordable cities to actually come into fruition is that we have to have a strong workforce. And that includes our first responders.
- [07:05]
Interviewer Assistant
Right.
- [07:05]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
You know, these individuals, women and men, who serve this city, they live in the neighborhoods. So making sure that they are being paid well, just like other workers, that was important to me. But the key in all of this is that it's just not policing alone. In fact, the city of Chicago has more police officers per capita than anywhere else in the country. So if it was just simply policing, you know, these trends ostensibly would have occurred prior to me arriving, but we took a full force approach.
- [07:33]
Interviewer Assistant
Right?
- [07:34]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
And when we talk about mental and behavioral health care services, 40% of the 911 calls that would historically come through were mental health crises. Police officers showing up to these scenes without the training, asking police officers literally to do everything that way of policing is just. It was unsustainable then, and it certainly is not the formation that I'm engaged in. And so since we provided mental and behavioral health care professionals to show up to these scenes where mental health crises are occurring, it frees up law enforcement to be able to address and deal with other forms of violence. And so we're seeing really a response from the entire city of Chicago in a Positive way, because we are taking this full force of government approach again, policing and investing in our workforce, policing and expanding mental and behavioral health care services. Policing and building more affordable homes. We're on pace to build conservatively, 10,000 new affordable units within the first four years of my administration. Long way to go, much work to be done, but we're certainly headed in the right direction.
- [08:40]
Interviewer
You know, one of the realities, though, in really almost any big city, but certainly in Chicago, given the recent history in the last 10 years or so, is not a ton of trust in a lot of communities for the police. And so when you say policing, for some people, they think, great, that sounds like safety. But for those who look like you and me, some people think, well, that's abuse. And we've seen a lot of really high profile cases in Chicago of police involved shootings, killings, in which there's no accountability for police and in which sometimes City hall has been reluctant to even be honest, release video, release information, let people see what really happened. How has your administration the address that?
- [09:23]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
That's an excellent question. You know, one of the challenges that we are experiencing right now as a city is that our budget has been strained because we are settling police brutality cases from an era in which I was, you know, in elementary school. Right. We just had a major settlement of a case that dates back, you know, three decades. Right. And so these are real challenges that we are experiencing just because there had not been accountability. We are in a new dawn, I believe, in this moment, where constitutional policing is the prevailing form of governance. Our police superintendent, within the first year and a half since we've been under the consent decree, we've had the biggest jump in terms of compliance than we've had under previous administrations. There are a lot more. There's a lot more intentionality around training and recruitment. Now, look, by no means have we been able to fully escape the dark days of brutality, but when you look at the cases that we are addressing, many of them are 10 years and moving back.
- [10:34]
Interviewer Assistant
Right.
- [10:34]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
And so as we look to, to the future, and we saw a good example of this when we hosted the Democratic National Convention, where we demonstrated that as a police force, we were able to protect the constitutional rights of those who are, you know, speaking the truth, quite frankly, while also keeping people safe, you know, one of the things that, you know, I try to lift up quite a bit in order to restore trust and confidence with law enforcement, particularly in our communities. Because historically, Joe, as you know, we call police more than anybody else. And then we get frustrated when they show up.
- [11:09]
Interviewer Assistant
Right.
- [11:10]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
Or we get hurt when they show up. Exactly. In too many cases, worst case scenario, harmed. And so, you know, I feel confident as we move forward to stronger constitutional policing, where we are protecting people's rights, where we are training our officers to de escalate, but also providing more support for our police officers to ensure that. That they're not constantly being placed in positions that, quite frankly, is out of position for them. And that's why I've been so intentional about behavioral mental health support services. Because if you look at brutality cases across the board, historically it's been individuals, not just black folks, but black folks who are suffering from trauma, that have been harmed and brutalized. So it's a combination of support for law enforcement to get them to adequate training, but also providing additional services on the front lines to ensure that those who are trained to respond to those circumstances are the ones who are actually showing up.
- [12:08]
Interviewer
Let's talk about that consent decree that you mentioned, because we know that the current administration in Washington is withdrawing consent decrees from police departments around the country that have had a history of brutality. They're not interested in that work anymore. When that consent decree is inevitably gone and with. Then what happens?
- [12:25]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
Yeah, look, one of the things that I know is critical for this moment is that government as a whole is still dated. There's very much a 20th century model, and we are, you know, a third of the way into the 21st century.
- [12:39]
Interviewer Assistant
Right.
- [12:40]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
And what I'm confident in is that as we draw from a far more eclectic and diverse pool of police officers, and we're seeing that In Chicago, almost 30%, if you will, of our officers are women. And that number is applicable to women in leadership. In fact, the first deputy superintendent is a black woman, the first in the history of Chicago. She happens to also be from the west side of Chicago like myself. But what we're seeing is that because the police force is getting younger, far more diverse people are coming into this profession with a stronger understanding of what it really means to serve and protect in the 21st century. Look, it's a tough job. It's a hard job. And the individuals who show up every single day are literally risking their lives. And they also know what their collective responsibility is, particularly at a time in which so much consternation and trepidation with law enforcement in general has been the prevailing sort of formation. But it's also the result of just past failures and the lack of recognition of those harms that have been caused. That that type of mindset, insensitivity and authority is coming into our police force, but it's something that we will have to constantly challenge our police departments to adhere to, even once the consent decree has been fulfilled.
- [14:14]
Interviewer
You know, and it's interesting that you talk about that, because to me, if there was ever a political job that I think would be the best job in politics, it would be mayor. Because it's sort of like being the president of a city. Right. And you can see the work that you're doing actually in people's lives in real time. Right. You don't have to wait for, like Congress to pass a law, and then a year from now, it happens. You can actually see the things that are happening. But probably the, I would say the biggest downside or the toughest thing about being a mayor, if I was analyzing it from the outside in, is dealing with the police department, is dealing with the police union. They tend to be the most powerful union left we have in this country. And they tend to want to have their own way. And I have yet to see a mayor that didn't clash with their police department because they have sometimes differing goals. They want to protect the officers from any sort of legal liability if something goes wrong, wrong. And they want complete sort of immunity from consequences. And the mayor has, obviously has to protect the entire city. What's your relationship like with the current police department and the union?
- [15:11]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
Yeah, well, let me just say that our police superintendent I appointed someone who has 30 plus years of service. He is a proud Southsider, hails from the community on the south side, the Inglewood community, and has an incredible trajectory and story he would tell you, if he were sitting in this seat, what it was like for him growing up on the south side of Chicago and his interactions with law enforcement and not just the misgivings, but the mistrust that, you know, unfortunately eroded, you know, many of our neighborhoods. But it was the motivating factor that drove him to become a leader, law enforcement. And I can tell you this wholeheartedly, the accountability that he is bringing to our police department is aligned with my administration because he knows how important it is to have strong relationships within communities to ensure maximum community safety, that he recognizes that law enforcement plays an incredible role and building those relationships as we talk about community policing, not as a just ideology, but as the regular form of policing, not some sort of subset or special program that we won't necessarily have to be, you know, tethered, if you will, to a consent decree in order to deliver high quality services. And so we work in tandem with one Another, I speak with them every single day. We have multiple interactions throughout the week. I cannot do this alone. And you're absolutely right about the responsibility as a mayor to have to oversee all of that. And what we've experienced thus far is that we've experienced a very strong bond in our overall commitment to drive violence down in the city of Chicago, bring different city services and resources together, whether it's the business community, the philanthropic community, our larger corporations. You know, one good example that I can even share about our police department. You know, there's a veteran in our department by the name of Fred Waller. And a lot of folks were trained by him, including the current superintendent. And once upon a time, it was unheard of for the police department to work with, with cvi, our community Violence Interrupters. I mean, these are individuals who have been justice involved in some cases. You know, they still have strong ties to that lifestyle, but these are individuals who've been on the front lines, literally helping us prevent retaliation and prevent violence from happening. And now here we are 30 years later, where the police superintendent is working in collaboration with community, community Violence Interrupters, and we're seeing success. That's an example of how we're building trust and taking policing into the 21st century, where policing alone and the addiction of jails and incarceration, that, that, you know, I would call it more of an iniquitous type of form of governance is just not something that we, we, we can afford to go back to. And so that regular interaction with the police superintendent myself, I have found it to be quite effective and useful, particularly as we build a safe, affordable big city.
- [18:38]
Joy Reid
Okay, time for some good news. We know you love good news. A legal fight over Jefferson County, Illinois, placing a large Ten Commandments monument on the lawn of the county courthouse is over the plaintiffs in the case. A group of religious and non religious Jefferson county residents filed suit last month in state court alleging that the religious monument violated Illinois's constitutional protections for the separation of church and state. But they've withdrawn their lawsuit challenging the display since it's no longer there. During a meeting in late June, immediately after the lawsuit was filed, members of the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners voted to remove the monument from county property and relocate it to a more appropriate location, namely the West Salem Trinity Church in Mount Vernon. In yesterday's joint motion to dismiss, the county affirmed that the monument will not return to county property. The plaintiffs were represented by the Freedom from Religion foundation, the ACLU of Illinois and the aclu. These are the kind of wins the Freedom from Religion foundation are gaining because they're just that good. But they're also right. There's a reason we have church and state separated in this country because it prevents any one religion from dominating you. That's why I'm so proud that this episode of the Joy Reid show is sponsored by the Freedom from Religion Foundation. Because let's be clear, erecting a giant statue to the Ten Commandments isn't about religion or even getting people to do the right thing. It's about power and about making one particular interpretation of religion dominant over everybody. Christian nationalists are pushing Ten Commandments not just in public spaces paid for by taxpayers, but also in schools, replacing counselors with school chaplains and using taxpayer funded vouchers to bankroll religious indoctrination and gut our public schools. This isn't protecting faith, it's weaponizing it against all of us. And the Freedom from Religion foundation isn't just standing aside and letting it happen. They're stepping up. FFRF defends the wall between church and state in courtrooms, in classrooms and in Congress. Want to Support go to FFRF US School or text my name Joy to 511-511 to stand up for real freedom, just text Joy J O Y to 511-511 today. Do it now. You'll feel good about it. Because once you let religion make the rules in schools and and workplaces and public spaces, it's only a matter of time before it's making them everywhere else. Go to FFRF US School or text JOY to 511-511-SAGE and data rates may apply. Okay, now back to the interview.
- [21:25]
Tom Homan
If your Chicago mayor don't doesn't want to help, he can step aside. But if he impedes us, if he knowingly harbors and conceals an illegal alien, I will prosecute him.
- [21:40]
Interviewer
And you're doing that at a time, though, when the federal government is being very aggressive, particularly targeting blue cities, to do the opposite of that kind of policing, to use ICE and masked people who may or may not be ICE and just masked individuals, to effectively attack people of color, immigrants of color in schools, hospitals, at their workplaces, even in immigration courts showing up everywhere. Is that kind of destabilizing activity taking place in Chicago? And if so, what's the reaction and what's the relationship of police to that?
- [22:13]
Joy Reid
Because normally the police show up when.
- [22:15]
Interviewer
The protests happen and then the thing that we're used to happens.
- [22:19]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
Well, you know, we are a proud, welcoming city and that status has been brought to us by the first Black mayor in the history of Chicago, Mayor Harold Washington. But it was really the idea, the brain trust of the first Black corporate counsel, Mr. James Montgomery, who was also counsel for the Black Panther Party right here in Chicago, who understood giving police unfettered power, if you will, to be able to essentially dub as federal agents as it relates to immigration is just a recipe for disaster. In fact, 40 years ago, the immigration director here in Chicago, Director Moyer, put together an operation called Operation Taxicab, where in the 80s, many taxicab drivers were immigrants and set up essentially a raid at our airport to round up all of the taxi drivers. What ended up happening was the vast majority of them were actually documented residents here. Sounds familiar, right?
- [23:26]
Donald Trump
National Guard has done such an incredible job working with the police and we haven't had to bring in the regular military, which we're willing to do. We have to. And after we do this, we'll go to another location and we'll make it safe also. We're going to make our country very safe. We're going to make our cities very, very safe. Chicago is a mess. You have an incompetent mayor, grossly incompetent. And we'll straighten that one out probably next. That will be our next one after this, and it won't even be tough. And the people in Chicago, Mr. Vice President, are screaming for us to come.
- [24:03]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
Yes, they are screaming.
- [24:03]
Donald Trump
They're wearing red hats, just like this one, but they're wearing red hats. African American ladies, beautiful ladies, are saying, please, President Trump, come to Chicago, please. I did great with the black vote, as you know, and they want something to happen. So I think Chicago will be our next and then we'll help with New York.
- [24:26]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
And so, you know, for me, I stand on the shoulders of two incredible human beings who understood the relationship between community and local law enforcement. And that when it comes to immigration enforcement, we should never be in coordination. Now, when there's criminal activity and other ways in which we can cooperate with the federal government, of course we do that, but I'm lifting that up. To say is that we have maintained that protective status. We have a strong community of support where, as you know, I've been very clear that it's important that all of us stand firm to protect our undocumented families and our immigrant communities community. We have an expansive know your rights campaign. I believe when the so called czar came to Chicago, his biggest critique was they're too educated.
- [25:16]
Interviewer Assistant
Right.
- [25:17]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
And so this is just a display of how our sister agencies, our city departments, along with our Police department, where we all work together to uphold the status of a welcoming city. You know, the Trump administration sued the city of Chicago for our status. And just last week, a district court rebuked and struck down that suit. Another way in which we are showing up for the undocumented community. And so whether it's taking it to the streets, as you said, protest, educating people, taking it to the courts, and even in policy, reaffirming our status as a welcoming city space, it's really a remarkable testament to the beauty and the joy, quite frankly, that exists in Chicago. Now. It doesn't mean that there aren't levels of anxiety and fear, but we're not going to allow those fears to permeate through our society and prevent us from living out, you know, what I call really the soul of who we are.
- [26:13]
Interviewer
And, you know, another one of your fellow mayors, Ross Baraka of Newark, New Jersey, was arrested attempting to inspect a private prison that was operating, in his view, illegally, per lawsuit that he filed in the city of Newark. The federal government is looking to stand up these federal detention facilities and camps all over the country, and they seem particularly interested in doing them in blue cities or blue counties. In blue cities, Miami, Dade County, Newark, New Jersey. But is that something that you would try to stop happening in Chicago? Would you allow a private prison to operate here to house migrants?
- [26:51]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
Well, definitely, we're not going to stand for a private entity or private prison to establish itself in Chicago. We're going to use every single force that we have to prevent something like that from happening. You know, what's so alarming about all of this is that with this last piece of legislation that the President signed, you know, the greatest concentration of wealth being shifted into the hands of the office ultra rich. But also the budget that ICE now has, or that budget is larger than governments and military forces around the world. In fact, the only two government armed forces that have a larger budget, America and China. And so these are real dangerous threats. And not to get too far off into the. So the historic dynamic around this, but as a former social study teacher, it's clear that, you know, this president is mimicking the behavior of Andrew Jackson. I mean, we're talking about the Indian Removal act, the Trail of Tears. To the victor goes the spoils.
- [27:54]
Interviewer Assistant
Right?
- [27:54]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
I mean, he's literally a full manifestation of what was probably one of the most consequential moments in our nation's history.
- [28:03]
Interviewer Assistant
Right.
- [28:03]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
And so, for me, just understanding that context is why it's so important. Important that we bring people together.
- [28:10]
Interviewer Assistant
Right.
- [28:10]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
Because there's been a level of divide, you know, within our communities, within the brown community, within the black community. And I always call out the. The contradiction, right? I mean, the city of Chicago, we were a safe haven, a refuge for 30,000 Ukrainians, and no one said a mumbling word. 30,000 Ukrainians are right here in the city of Chicago, fully supported by the federal government. And I'm not saying that. That. That wasn't the right thing to do. I'm saying that there's an intentionality around this authoritarian rule to divide and conquer people of color. And that's why, you know, I'm always leaning into the history of this city. A black Haitian immigrant, a Potawatomi woman, the first small business as a trade post at the bank of the river, understanding the global connection of immigrants around the world or descendants of slaves who have found refuge in this city, that we have right to protect that. And so the pushback is not just simply a response to authoritarianism or tyranny. It's really a response to those who made it possible for me to be in this sacred room right here where Dr. King came in this room and challenged power and then left out of this room and said he hadn't experienced anything like what he experienced in Chicago, even in the Deep South. But he also said that if you. If we can figure it out in Chicago, we can do it anywhere in the world. And so my motivation is really to figure it out in Chicago because we have to be a world example of how we show up for immigrants and fight for comprehensive immigration reform and also fight to secure reparations for those of us who are descendants of slaves, that those things do not have to be in opposition to one another. And we are a living testament here in the city of Chicago as we build safe, affordable cities, investing in people of color, and we're doing it unapologetically.
- [29:54]
Interviewer
How do the national Democrats feel about using the word reparations? That generally isn't very popular?
- [29:59]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
Yeah, well, you know, I think that there is. There is a brighter day that I believe it's in front of us. And I think it's incumbent upon, you know, those who have been a part of the Democratic apparatus and establishment for some time understand that there is a shift that's happening not just ideologically, but there's a shift that's happening in our humanity. You know, the evolution of our democracy has been brought to us by the most marginalized people on the planet. And we're seeing, you know, global population shift all over the country. And we're seeing, you know, the animus towards people of color. You know, what's, you know, I appreciate the President, the former President of the United States of America speaking to the humanitarian crisis that's happening in Gaza. We need more voices from those who have benefited from the political democratic apparatus to speak to those demands.
- [30:57]
Interviewer Assistant
Right.
- [30:57]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
You know, we can condemn terrorism and still call for peace, that those don't have to be in conflict with one another. And here in Chicago, we were the first major city to vote and call for the releasing of hostages and a ceasefire. You know, we have given workers 10 paid days off. We've abolished a sub minimum wage where tip workers who are overwhelmingly brown and black. We've established a reparations task force with money. We've already initiated another $4 million for wealth building.
- [31:28]
Interviewer Assistant
Right.
- [31:28]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
We're talking, you know, here in Chicago, 1 in 418 year olds or younger are living in poverty. But you know, we have 127,000 millionaires or something like that, 25 billionaires in our state. You know, people should not be going hungry and people should not be without medicine. And these are the deep traditions that come out of the political liberation of our people. And I think about Reverend Jackson who was calling for single payer in 84.
- [31:57]
Interviewer Assistant
Right.
- [31:58]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
You know, and these are the traditions, right, that, that are sacred, that I am clinging to in this moment. That's what gives me hope, joy, quite frankly, is that, you know, whether the antiquated sort of delayed response that's coming from some of the folks within the Democratic Party is clear that Brandon Scott gets it. It's clear that Randall Woodfin gets it. You know, when I, you know, I think about, you know, Mayor Patterson Howard in Mount Vernon, she gets it. Karen Bass certainly gets it. I call Karen on a regular basis. I like sis. What we doing today?
- [32:30]
Interviewer Assistant
Right?
- [32:31]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
And we're leaning on one another because you're seeing black mayors around this country lead a very bold, dynamic, progressive form of governance. And this is what I believe that our country needs in this moment. And the Democratic Party will do itself a favor by paying attention to the cities that are doing the work. And that work is actually working well.
- [32:49]
Interviewer
And people like Tom Holman, you mentioned, the border czar has said that he will arrest mayors like yourself, like Heron. They've already arrested Ras Baraka. They had to let him go. Does that kind of threat resonate when you hear him saying he's prepared to arrest a mayor like you for standing in the way of kidnapping people off of the street and putting them in detention camps? Or exporting them around the world.
- [33:11]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
You know, I mentioned earlier that, you know, just to your left, to my right, Dr. King sat right there. And I remember a story from Richard J. Daly's son, John Daly. He was a teenager when Dr. King came and visited. And that door right behind you. Dr. Keene came in this room. It was jam packed. And when he walked in this room, everyone stood at attention. No one moved. He moved. He said, I don't think anybody was even breathing at that time. They just stood in awe. And I think I say that and I think about that moment and I think about people like Fannie Lou Hamer or Frederick Douglass or Ida B. Wells. I mean, these individuals had their lives threatened. What do I have to be afraid of? They've already tried to do the worst to us. We're clearly a threat to what President Biden said at the commencement speech at Howard University. He said, the greatest threat to our democracy is white supremacy. And I'll take it one step further. About 100 years ago, Justice Brandes said that we can either have a democracy or we can have wealth concentrated in the hands of the few. But he said, we cannot have both. We have to choose. And so in this moment, I'm choosing our democracy. You either support the Constitution or you do not. And so those threats do not intimidate me. And I'm sure, you know, our ancestors had moments of doubt, you know, needed support. But I am so charged up by how younger voters are coming to the table. You know, Joy, I won by roughly, I don't know, 26,000 something something votes. There were 27,000 new voters who voted in April that did not vote in round one. They were all under the age of 34. And so we're seeing like this, this revived state, if you will, where young voters are coming together, working with, you know, I guess I'm considered older now since I was born in the late 1900s. You're an unk. I'm definitely an unk.
- [35:15]
Interviewer Assistant
Right, right.
- [35:15]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
But you're seeing that cross generational from Gen X to Gen Z are coming together and showing up for working people. And so, no, I'm not intimidated by it. And I'm going to continue to speak to the strength of those who made it possible for me to be in this very seat. You know, the feedback that I would offer myself is there's maybe three things. One, I know that I have to do a better job at communicating to the people of Chicago the what and the why. And these interactions are very helpful. You have thousands of People who tune in to you. So I appreciate you giving voice to mayors across this country, but particularly black mayors. And so we've been doing that, spending more time in the community, getting feedback. One of the things that I am proud of, though, is the fact that, you know, I made a commitment and a promise to increase youth employment. We've done that.
- [36:07]
Interviewer Assistant
Right?
- [36:07]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
45% increase. We said that we would reopen mental health clinics. We promised to do that. I've done that. I said that we would revamp our detectives bureau and we would promote 200 detectives by the end of my first term. Well, we've already done that. And then I said that we're going to make community safety a top priority and we're going to drive violence down the city of Chicago. We've done it. A lot of work to be done. Still. What I will say is that this is a critical moment in my, in my tenure within my first term, with another 648, 49 days left to go on my first term, is that we are calling the question in this budget around the ultra rich and those with means to put more skin in the game. And you know, the budget deficit that I'm experiencing is. I mean, this is happening all over the country, states all over the country and cities who are dealing with these budget challenges.
- [36:58]
Interviewer
And it's going to get worse with the federal. The federal budget is going to make it worse and make Medicaid harder to get, harder to access. It's just going to get worse.
- [37:05]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
You're absolutely right. And that's why I'm putting forth the budget in another month or two that is going to call in our corporate leaders as well as those with means, As I said, 127,000, I believe, millionaires, 25 billionaires right here within the boundaries of our city. And you mentioned that there are neighborhoods, particularly on the west and south sides of Chicago, that reflect the numbers in developing nations. You know, I live in Austin on the west side of Chicago. It's a beautiful community and we have had our share of disadvantage. In fact, I am likely the first mayor in the history of Chicago to wake up in one of the toughest neighborhoods in the entire city. This is something that is very personal and dear to me as my wife and I of 27 years are raising 11, 13 and a 17 year old. Good God Almighty. And what I want for my children, what I want for my family, I want for every single family around this city. And I do know that those with means, they want that as well because they tell it to me, you know, when I talk to our corporate leaders, they don't talk about taxes. The first thing they bring up is community safety and the work that we have done to drive violence down the city of Chicago. I made a pronouncement a year ago that we had to get under 500. We are on track again. 32% reduction in homicides the month of April. The fewest amount of homicides since 1962. One of the safest Memorial Day weekends in almost 20 years. Same thing with the Fourth of July. One of the safest Fourth of July weekends that we had in six, seven years. Now, look, one shooting, one homicide, one too many. I think no one's going to disagree with that. And in order for us to continue to build the safest, most affordable big city in America, it's going to take all of us. So I'm calling everybody in.
- [38:50]
Interviewer
Mayor Brandon Johnson, thank you so much for spending some time with us.
- [38:53]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
You're welcome.
- [38:53]
Interviewer
We appreciate you.
- [38:54]
Mayor Brandon Johnson
Thank you. This is so dope, by the way. Truly the honor of my life.
- [38:57]
Interviewer
Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you.
- [38:59]
Joy Reid
Hey, y', all, thank you for tuning in to the Joy Reid Show. We so appreciate you. And thank you again to Mayor Brandon Johnson and his amazing team. We had a great time in Chicago.
- [39:09]
Interviewer
We're definitely going to go back and spend more time.
- [39:11]
Joy Reid
Stay tuned for more great interviews with America's mayors who are standing on the front line against this regime. And also stay tuned for the next.
- [39:21]
Interviewer
The Joy Reid Show.
- [39:22]
Joy Reid
Be sure to hit like, like and subscribe and also share this episode, Share.
- [39:26]
Interviewer
It with a friend, share it with.
- [39:27]
Joy Reid
A foe to make sure that everyone never misses a moment of this independent media content. Thanks again for your support, especially our team TJRS members. Big ups to everyone listening on YouTube, on substack, on Spotify, anywhere that you're listening to the show.
- [39:43]
Interviewer
We appreciate you.
- [39:44]
Joy Reid
See y' all on the next the Joy Reach Show.
- [39:49]
Poet/Artist
Getting back to the basics, grassroots level, let me dig a little deeper with the show. Plenty can't tell the forest from the trees and I'm hard to detect like a black hole in the dark injustice anywhere it's a threat to justice everywhere Let me make this clear I got a bone to pick and I'll never fear the threat of poverty they don't want to talk about it they rap a party so I'm a real talk about it for sure.