The main target was Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney who led the probe that ended in Trump’s indictment on 34 felony counts. Shortly after being elected, Bragg got blitzed for announcing that he would not prosecute certain lower-level crimes — and rightly so. New York Mayor Eric Adams was among the many who condemned the remark.
Bragg quickly retracted, and mainstream New York moved on. But he will undoubtedly have to explain himself when he next faces the voters. Make no mistake that the New York masses regard crime as a very serious issue, witness the easy election of former police captain Adams as mayor.
Murders in New York have recently trended down since the COVID spike. Contrary to Jordan’s made-up claim, they are nowhere near record levels. There were 433 homicides last year. In 1990, there were 2,245.
Knock on wood, but there’s never been a mass shooting at a New York City public school. One reason, Adams says, is that the city actively confiscates weapons entering schools. Other reasons are that New York has real gun control laws and the local culture is not much into gun worship.
The spectacle of these Republican tourists harassing, intimidating and threatening the DA in a place where they had no standing was not a great look for those who care about optics. But the ultimate pan of the show came in New Yorkers’ reaction: They weren’t really upset about it. On the contrary, they got to repeat again and again that their city is one of the safest cities in America.
As that great Nebraskan, Johnny Carson, once advised: “Only lie about the future.”
