South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem responded to Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s criticism of her statement that cities with Democratic leadership are “being overrun by violent mobs.”
“From Seattle and Portland to Washington and New York, Democrat-run cities across this country are being overrun by violent mobs,” Noem said Wednesday during the Republican National Convention. “The violence is rampant. There’s looting, chaos, destruction, and murder. People who can afford to flee have fled, but the people that can’t, good, hardworking Americans, are left to fend for themselves.”
Durkan joined MSNBC to do a “reality check” on the statement during the Republican convention, slamming it as “purposefully wrong.”
“Her caricature of the great cities across America is not only wrong â it’s purposefully wrong,” Durkan said. “Seattle is a city that I raised my two children in, and I would not have raised them anywhere else.”
Noem shot back on Thursday during an interview on Fox News that “no mother wants to have her children be raised on the streets of Portland or Seattle.”
“Well, I think itâs typical,” Noem said of MSNBC cutting to an interview with Durkan during her speech. “But you look at whatâs happening on the streets every single day in these cities. And normal, everyday people donât want any part of it. In fact, no mother wants to have her children be raised on the streets of Portland or Seattle right now because of the unrest, because of the violence, and itâs not American. So we truly believe in the rule of law and it being upheld, and thatâs the difference right now today between the Republican and the Democrat parties.â
“Seattleâs dramatically changed, and I think their violent crime rate has gone up about 44% since all of this has happened in the last three or four months,” she added. “So maybe the Seattle she raised her children in was different years ago, but today, the families that live there â theyâre under attack. And this is one of those things that we need to have an honest conversation about and really recognize that it comes from lack of leadership and very poor leadership that has its priorities screwed up.â
The final night of the convention is Thursday and will feature speakers such as Ivanka Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
