Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Philadelphia Mayor Slammed For Saying He'll Be 'Happy' When He's Not Mayor Anymore After Parade Shooting

Philadelphia Mayor Slammed For Saying He'll Be 'Happy' When He's Not Mayor Anymore After Parade Shooting
@JoeHoldenCBS3/Twitter

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.

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.

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.







But others urged people to consider the full context of Kenney's comments.

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."

More from Trending

Most Telling Signs That Someone Is Smarter Than They Let On

Brains and smarts.

Those two things don't always go together.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Lauren Boebert and Roger Stone
C-SPAN

Boebert Dragged After Confusing Director Oliver Stone With Roger Stone At JFK Hearing

Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert hit a new low after she attempted to grill director Oliver Stone—the director of the classic 1991 political thriller JFK—on some of his views on the assassination of JFK, only to have colleagues point out that she'd mistaken him for Roger Stone, a former adviser and strategist to President Donald Trump.

The hearing—held in response to last month’s release of 80,000 pages of documents by the Trump administration related to the 1963 assassination—took an awkward turn when more than halfway through the hearing, Boebert brought up a book Roger Stone wrote, which alleges that former President Lyndon B. Johnson played a role in former President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

Keep ReadingShow less
Amy Schumer
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Amy Schumer Epically Fails To Convince Husband She's Pregnant As April Fools' Prank

Stand up comic Amy Schumer realized that her husband Chris Fischer was no fool.

On April Fool's Day, the Trainwreck star tried to prank her husband by telling him she was pregnant, but he knew better than to fall for it.

Keep ReadingShow less
Val Kilmer
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Hollywood Pays Poignant Tribute To Val Kilmer After His Tragic Death At 65

Hollywood stars are paying tribute to Top Gun actor Val Kilmer after he died on Tuesday at the age of 65 after a battle with pneumonia, surrounded by family and friends.

Kilmer got his start in Hollywood with comedic roles in Top Secret! (1984) and Real Genius (1985), but his breakout moment came with Top Gun (1986), which cemented his status as a rising star.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; portrait of Andrew Jackson
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Trump Slammed Over Plans For Magnolia Tree Planted By Andrew Jackson To Be Chopped Down

President Donald Trump was criticized after he took to Truth Social to announce he would chop down a magnolia tree that was planted next to the White House to commemorate President Andrew Jackson's late wife in the early 1800s, touting the move as one of the "tremendous enhancements" his administration has undertaken.

Trump announced that, following consultations with the Executive Residence Staff and the National Park Service, his administration has decided to replace the tree on the White House’s south side, citing safety concerns. The tree has historically served as a backdrop for past presidents greeting foreign dignitaries.

Keep ReadingShow less