This year's Fourth of July was a somber occasion for several reasons, not least of which were two shootings at July 4 festivities in suburban Chicago and the city of Philadelphia.
And in the wake of the latter, the city's mayor's comments about the incident have become a master class in how not to handle a mass shooting.
During a press conference about the incident, which left two police officers seriously injured and scores of Philadelphians terrorized, Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney lamented the terrifying frequency with which shootings occur all over America.
He then finished his remarks with a comment that has gotten him in a lot of hot water: Kenney said he'll be "happy" when he's no longer mayor so that he can "enjoy some stuff."
You can probably imagine how well that has gone over. See his comments below.
\u201cMayor of Philadelphia, Jim Kenney (D): \u201cI\u2019m waiting for something bad to happen all the time, so I\u2019ll be happy when I\u2019m not here, when I\u2019m not mayor and can enjoy some stuff,\u201d when asked about his resolve to address incidents like tonight. \n@CBSPhilly\u201d— Joe Holden (@Joe Holden) 1656995834
Kenney's controversial comment was part of a longer statement in which he expressed a sentiment relatable to most people in this country—he is sick and tired of being terrified of gun violence all day, every day, everywhere he goes.
\u201cPhiladelphia Mayor Jim Kenney expressed frustration over gun laws in the U.S. amid the shooting of two police officers near the site of a Fourth of July concert https://t.co/cJq293P3Nc\u201d— Reuters (@Reuters) 1657012500
As he told members of the media:
"This is a gun country. It's crazy."
"We are the most armed country in world history and we are one of the least safe."
"So until Americans decide that they want to give up the guns and give up the opportunity to get guns we are going to have this problem."
Few reasonable-minded Americans would argue with those sentiments. Kenney went on to describe the constant worries he has about gun violence erupting in his city.
"I'm concerned every single day."
"There's not an event or a day where I don't lay on my back at night, look at the ceiling, and worry about stuff."
Kenney went on to list a number of large events his city has hosted during his tenure, which he said filled him with anticipatory anxiety about gun violence.
"[E]verything we have had in the city over the last seven years, I worry about."
"I don't enjoy the Fourth of July. I didn't enjoy the Democratic National Convention. I didn't enjoy the NFL Draft."
"I'm waiting for something bad to happen all the time."
But then Kenney's comments went just a tad too far. He said:
"I'll be happy when I'm not here — when I'm not mayor, and I can enjoy some stuff."
To many people watching, and many more on social media, Kenney's comments landed like self-centered complaints in the wake of a tragedy that he was lucky enough to have evaded.
And on Twitter, many people were furious about it.
\u201c@JoeHoldenCBS3 @CBSPhilly Would you like to change what you said or how you said it, Mr. Mayor? @PhillyMayor @JimFKenney @PHLCouncil\u201d— Joe Holden (@Joe Holden) 1656995834
\u201c@JoeHoldenCBS3 @ECWFan360 @CBSPhilly This is what abdication looks like.\n\nAlso, remember that abdication was one of the grievances the colonists enumerated in the Declaration of Independence.\u201d— Joe Holden (@Joe Holden) 1656995834
\u201c@JoeHoldenCBS3 @2Aupdates @CBSPhilly Well, so sorry you were inconvenienced Mr. Mayor.\u201d— Joe Holden (@Joe Holden) 1656995834
\u201c@JoeHoldenCBS3 @CBSPhilly Leadership isn\u2019t easy. It\u2019s even harder if you have no idea how to lead, how your actions affect others and how much weight your words carry!\u201d— Joe Holden (@Joe Holden) 1656995834
\u201c@JoeHoldenCBS3 @CBSPhilly Omg time to go then, wow\u201d— Joe Holden (@Joe Holden) 1656995834
\u201c@JoeHoldenCBS3 @CBSPhilly He gave up on his own city with that statement\u201d— Joe Holden (@Joe Holden) 1656995834
\u201cIf you say things like this, then you shouldn't be mayor of your own town, much less a city like Philadelphia. Philly deserves so much better than this.\u201d— Josh Verlin (@Josh Verlin) 1656996866
But others urged people to consider the full context of Kenney's comments.
\u201c@JoeHoldenCBS3 @CBSPhilly I\u2019m not defending him. He shouldn\u2019t of said it and I agree with everyone don\u2019t like it step down. With that, this clip doesn\u2019t show the entire story. He was asked a question in which he responded he was angry that PA law doesn\u2019t allow him to change any gun laws to make city safer\u201d— Joe Holden (@Joe Holden) 1656995834
\u201c@JoeHoldenCBS3 @CBSPhilly I know the Mayor is taking a lot of heat from his comments about being glad when he is done being Mayor. Take a step back, we've all been there. Frustrated, tired and said something that didn't go over well. He's human.\u201d— Joe Holden (@Joe Holden) 1656995834
\u201cPresumably the Mayor was making this statement out of frustration, which is understandable. \n\nHowever, I wonder how the families of the more than 2,600 homicide victims who've died while he's been in office feel about the violence?\u201d— Tom Winter (@Tom Winter) 1657031809
Regardless of the controversy, Kenney seems to have meant what he said. Asked to clarify if he truly looks forward to no longer being mayor, he replied, "Yeah, as a matter of fact."
