Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney (D) admitted on the Fourth of July that he would “be happy” when his term is complete and he is no longer leading the city.
During an Independence Day fireworks display put on by the City of Brotherly Love, a shooter hit two police officers — grazing one on the forehead and the other on the right shoulder. Footage of the attack shows civilians near the city’s art museum fleeing the scene.
WATCH: Chaos erupts on the streets of Philadelphia after a shooting during a Fourth of July fireworks display. pic.twitter.com/UGelIRcdi1
— BNN Newsroom (@BNNBreaking) July 5, 2022
In subsequent comments to 6ABC, Kenney admitted that incidents like the Fourth of July shooting make him look forward to no longer serving as mayor.
“There’s not an event or a day where I don’t lay on my back and look at the ceiling and worry about stuff. So everything we have in the city over the last seven years, I worry about,” Kenney remarked. “I don’t enjoy the Fourth of July, I don’t enjoy the Democratic National Convention, I don’t enjoy the NFL draft — I’m waiting for something bad to happen all the time.”
“So I’ll be happy when I’m not here, when I’m not mayor, and I can enjoy some stuff,” he added.
“I’m waiting for something bad to happen all the time. So I’ll be happy when I’m not here, when I’m not mayor, and I can enjoy some stuff,” Philly Mayor Jim Kenney said. https://t.co/ZkvrGTmwKH pic.twitter.com/R9X4TIBMcR
— Matt Petrillo (@MattPetrillo) July 5, 2022
The bewildered reporter clarified, “You’re looking forward to not being mayor?” Kenney replied, “Yeah,” before appearing to laugh awkwardly.
Kenney assumed office as mayor of Philadelphia in 2016 after serving on the Philadelphia City Council since 1992. His current term expires in 2024.
Despite his pessimism, Kenney took a different approach on social media. “Our traditions cannot and will not be ruined by the scourge of gun violence,” he said after the shooting. “I love this city, and as Mayor, there’s nothing more I want than to help solve this problem and keep our residents and visitors safe.”
Yet Philadelphia has languished in recent years. The city experienced its highest level of homicides in 2021, with 562 murders. The most recent surge in killings began in 2020, according to Philadelphia Police Department data.
Last month, three people were murdered and 11 wounded in a mass shooting involving multiple gunmen in a neighborhood of Philadelphia known for its bars and restaurants. “The events that transpired last evening on South Street are beyond devastating,” Kenney said at the time. “Once again, we see lives senselessly lost and those injured in yet another horrendous, brazen and despicable act of gun violence.”
Economic woes have also struck the city as soaring gas prices impact low-income residents. The Daily Wire recently interviewed residents of West Philadelphia — where median household income is 43% of the national level — about their struggles to make ends meet.
“It’s too high. I don’t know what happened, because the price of everything is too high now,” Mohamed, a West Philadelphia resident and immigrant from French-speaking Africa, told The Daily Wire. Gas prices have significantly impacted him due to his daily commute to nearby New Jersey.
“I was using maybe $30 per week. Now I use almost $100,” Iliassou Koukpelerou, who drives a Hyundai Ioniq hybrid, told The Daily Wire. “It’s too much. I don’t know what they’re going to do about it.”
“They have to do something to lower the prices, so we can enjoy the way we were before,” he continued. “People don’t have money in their pockets anymore.”