When the Mayor of a city that voted for [Redacted], in a red state, politely asks him to stay away
...and in spite of that, his staff confirm, he'll be in Phoenix for a pep rally next Tuesday.
Donald Trump makes it official: He'll hold a downtown Phoenix rally
Big-city Mayors have the hardest job in electoral politics, bar none. They are the pointy end of the spear, held responsible on a daily, hourly, every-minute-every-second basis for the nuts and bolts of their citizens' safety and quality of life. The more urban challenges increase, the harder the job gets.
There may be small-town Mayors who can show up for parades, bang the gavel at an occasional meeting, call to check on the sanitation department now and then, and otherwise get on with their job running a real estate agency or a law practice.
But make no mistake, big-city Mayor is the front-line command post, with the trenches all around you and the sounds of incoming fire loud in your ears, 24/7. They have to monitor the temperature, literally and figuratively, of their city and their citizens like a nurse in an intensive care ward. They have to track indicators from law enforcement, municipal safety, utilities, transit, infrastructure and services constantly. They have to be in touch with the media, who's saying what, where the political trouble spots are brewing, where the dickers are being done and which dicks are doing them.
When a big-city Mayor politely asks the President, "please delay your visit," it's not an empty gesture or rhetorical grandstanding.
Particularly not in a city and state that voted for that President, that have historically been aligned with his Party, and have plenty of his supporters in prominent places. Those are all circumstances that would in normal times make a Presidential visit, even for something as trivial as an ego-stroking pep rally, a real feather in that Mayor's cap. An occasion to line up City solons and State Party dignitaries and elected officials and collect plenty of chips for future horse trading.
No, if a big-city Mayor, in such circumstances, asks the President to please postpone the visit, that Mayor is making a sober, considered judgment about risk to their city and their citizens, not a mere political gesture.
And if the President ignores that request, what does it say about him?
I do hope he reconsiders.
Arizona has been reliably red, but >Redacted< is not necessarily a soothing presence right now.
Buckle up, neighbors.
worriedly,
Bright
= new reply since forum marked as read
