Richard Nixon Foundation blasts Chicago’s Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson for blaming former president for bloody July 4 weekend shooting spree

The Richard Nixon Foundation criticized Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson after the Democrat blamed the crime in his city about the man who served in the White House 40 years ago.

Johnson, 48, sparked outrage after the Fourth of July weekend, when 19 people were killed and more than 100 injured in shootings in Chicago, calling Nixon a “root cause” of the crime wave.

“The Black Death has unfortunately been accepted in this country for a long time,” he said at a news conference. “We had a chance to address the root causes 60 years ago, and people laughed at President Johnson. And we ended up with Richard Nixon.”

In response, Jim Byron, the president and CEO of the Richard Nixon Foundation, said: Fox news that Johnson is ‘passing the buck, which in this case is ridiculous and unnecessary.’

At least 109 people were shot, 19 of them fatally, as violence erupted in Chicago over the weekend

In his response, Byron rejected Johnson’s characterization of the ousted president, saying Nixon “was a champion of civil rights as vice president and as president.”

He said that “the facts are clear” and claimed that “unfortunately there are many misconceptions about Richard Nixon.

But perceptions of years ago are now being revised as we see a renewed interest in studying and fully understanding his life and legacy.

“What’s happening in Chicago is heartbreaking. I imagine Chicagoans want leaders who will take responsibility and work together to solve problems, rather than blaming someone else, in this case in a ridiculous and unnecessary way.”

The foundation added that its response to Johnson’s press conference raised $1 million views on Xjoining a chorus of conservative voices criticizing the Chicago mayor’s comments.

The CEO of the Richard Nixon Foundation argued that the former president was a “champion of civil rights” as he said Johnson’s “blame-shifting, in this case, is ridiculous and unnecessary”

The foundation’s tweet cited a number of Nixon’s civil rights accomplishments, including efforts to continue desegregating schools, increase funding for civil rights and provide more support to black-owned businesses.

“Mayor Johnson’s reference to President Nixon is inappropriate and the facts do not support his characterization of Richard Nixon and the Nixon Administration’s civil rights movement,” the report said.

At least 109 people were shot, 19 of them fatally, during a weekend of horrific gun violence in the city celebrating the Fourth of July holiday, Chicago police said.

The shooting spree spanned 74 separate incidents, including a gruesome family murder in which an 8-year-old boy and two family members were killed, while two other boys, ages 5 and 7, were wounded in the same shooting.

Eight people were also shot dead in a mass shooting in the Little Italy neighborhood.

For comparison, in 2023, 11 people were killed and 62 injured during the Fourth of July weekend.

Officers and bystanders are pictured on a street where a horrific massacre took place in which an 8-year-old boy was killed, along with two family members, while two other boys, aged 5 and 7, were injured in the same shooting.

Eight people were also shot in a mass shooting in the city’s Little Italy neighborhood. Chicago authorities have vowed to bring justice to victims after the weekend’s massacre.

Johnson said he had asked the federal government for more resources to combat crime, but drew puzzled looks as he explained that the “root cause” of the violence began long ago.

“What we experienced this weekend is unacceptable and we didn’t get here overnight. And everyone knows that. Let’s tell the whole story of what happened,” he said.

Johnson, who has notably supported the “Defund the Police” movement, seemingly blamed Nixon for the crime wave. He also said his office and the city’s police department would crack down on those responsible.

“This is a choice. The choice to kill. The choice to kill women, the choice to kill children, the choice to kill the elderly. These are choices that the perpetrators made and they calculated,” Johnson said.

“We hold every individual responsible for the pain and suffering they have caused in this city.”