NYC Mayor De Blasio Helps Paint ‘Black Lives Matter’ Outside Trump Tower

Following in the footsteps of Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, NYC Mayor de Blasio joined in the fun (and posed for a few photos that might help bolster his abysmal approval ratings) after closing down a swath of 5th Avenue to paint “Black Lives Matter” in big yellow letters outside Trump Tower.

The work on the new “mural” started around 11amET.

#BREAKING: Painters start work on #BlackLivesMatter mural outside Trump Tower in NYC. pic.twitter.com/MQQe2b9YDJ

— The Hill (@thehill) July 9, 2020

Bandana tied around his face instead of a mask in a ridiculous attempt to appear ‘edgy’, de Blasio managed to arrange what he probably felt was a ‘powerful’ photo op, flanked by Al Sharpton and group of black luminaries and volunteers.

@NYCMayor De Blasio painting Black Lives Matter out front of Trump Tower … #BLM #NYC pic.twitter.com/ngvIxE5Lkv

— InstantMedia (@MediaIndustria1) July 9, 2020

As the National Review pointed out, by indulging in these types of symbolic but ultimately hollow gestures, de Blasio is continuing the trend of Trump’s biggest critics inadvertently adopting the behaviors of the man they claim to abhor.

Once again, we have a case of people who profess to hate Donald Trump – for his inane tweeting and for other reasons – adopting exactly those tactics they keep saying they deplore. There is no purpose to this exercise (and it’s a waste of public money) except to annoy a president – whose support Bill de Blasio would love to get for a bailout to cover his massive budget gap and other kinds of funding. Like him or not, President Trump does exercise some power, perhaps even for four more years. Why go out of your way to be personally obnoxious to a fellow public official? This exercise makes de Blasio look even less mature than Trump. At least Trump doesn’t paint his tweets on Pennsylvania Avenue.

President Trump slammed de Blasio in a tweet, accusing him of painting a “symbol of hate” on one of NYC”s “greatest streets”, and called on police to stand up to the mayor and not let it happen.

The money and effort could perhaps be applied to fighting crime instead.

That’s not a bad suggestion, since shootings in the city have skyrocketed by 200%, causing the murder rate to spike.

Shootings Triple in Mayor de Blasio‘s New York City https://t.co/mzac807wgt via @BreitbartNews

— Dan B. (@dbeard8987) July 9, 2020

Along with other forms of violent crime.

NYC crime stats for June 2020 compared to June 2019 per @NYPDnews

–130% increase in shooting incidents (205⬅️89)
–30% increase in murders (39⬅️30)
–118% increase in burglaries (1,783⬅️817)
–51% increase in auto thefts (696⬅️462)https://t.co/6kFteynawM

— Travis Fedschun (@travfed) July 6, 2020