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Join Telegram ChannelDemocratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called President-elect Trump a “threat to everything reasonable” while saying Trump wanted to dismantle public education and create a system of “upheaval and chaos.”
Johnson spoke to reporters Tuesday and took the opportunity to express his feelings about the new president, particularly his stance on immigration and sanctuary cities.
The mayor acknowledged the nation's challenge on immigration policy, suggesting Trump pass laws instead of making threats.
“We are still a welcoming city. That did not change on November 5, and it does not change depending on who is in the White House and whether you seek refuge from South Central America or the African continent,” said Johnson. . “This country must remain a welcoming space for new arrivals and immigrants.”
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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson provides an update on migrant issues at City Hall. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Johnson said that while Trump was committed to transforming the United States, he would work with Congress to create “reasonable” legislation that would place more border patrols and judges at the border for asylum cases. But instead, Johnson claimed, the president and others did the opposite and tried to create chaos.
“He wants to create structure in a system where there is upheaval and chaos,” Johnson said before turning his attention to public education. “He wants to dismantle public education, a system that was built by descendants of slaves, especially in the South. He poses a threat to everything that is reasonable.”
Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump-Vance transition team, told Fox News Digital: “No policy should be considered official unless it comes directly from President Trump.
“The American people re-elected President Trump with a large majority, giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail,” Leavitt added. “He will deliver.”
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President Trump visits the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Otay Mesa, California. (Nicolas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)
Yet Johnson continued to pit Trump against the city of Chicago.
The mayor said he would not allow Trump to play games with city residents.
“If he wants to work with us, he’ll have a partner,” Johnson said. “But if he wants to come and threaten us, then he does… he has declared his opposition to us.”
Johnson's comments come a week after he claimed at another news conference that Trump posed a threat to black families.
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Chicagoans are angry with Mayor Johnson and other city officials, particularly over policies that allocate taxpayer dollars to benefit illegal immigrants. (Getty)
“His threat is not just directed at newcomers and undocumented families. His threats are also directed at black families. … We are going to protect undocumented individuals,” Johnson said at the time. “We will protect Black people, Brown people, Asian people. The city of Chicago will be better, stronger and safer, regardless of who is in the White House.”
Chicagoans have been angry at Johnson and other city officials for some time now, particularly over policies that direct taxpayer dollars to benefit illegal immigrants who have flooded the city in recent years as the city's crime rate continues to skyrocket.
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Residents criticized the Chicago City Council at a February meeting after city and state officials approved hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to feed, clothe and house more than 35,000 transported migrants to Chicago and its suburbs over the previous year and a half.
The mayor's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Gabriel Hays and Elizabeth Heckman of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.