Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg responded to President Donald Trump’s now-deleted tweet where he called the Democrat a racist over unearthed stop-and-frisk comments.
A 2015 audio reportedly shows Bloomberg defending his stop-and-frisk policy, telling people that minority neighborhoods were targeted “because that’s where all the crime is.” Bloomberg added that the controversial policing policy worked even though officers had to “throw” minorities “up against the wall and frisk them.”
Bloomberg responded to the unearthed commentary Tuesday after taking heat from critics. He largely addressed Trump’s deleted tweet where he wrote “WOW, BLOOMBERG IS A TOTAL RACIST!” (RELATED: Here’s Audio From The Event Michael Bloomberg Is Trying To Block From Being Broadcast)
“President Trump’s deleted tweet is the latest example of his endless efforts to divide Americans,” Bloomberg said in a statement. “I inherited the police practice of stop-and-frisk, and as part of our effort to stop gun violence it was overused.”
“By the time I left office, I cut it back by 95%, but I should’ve done it faster and sooner. I regret that and I have apologized – and I have taken responsibility for taking too long to understand the impact it had on Black and Latino communities.
Bloomberg statement in response to Trump misleads about how and why stop and frisk was changed as policy in first graf pic.twitter.com/rlO8APK1Br
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) February 11, 2020
Bloomberg added in his statement that his past comments about the issue “do not reflect” his “commitment to criminal justice reform and racial equity.” The former mayor failed to fully address his past comments, using much of his statement to go after Trump for his deleted tweet. He has apologized for the policy in the past.
“Make no mistake Mr. President: I am not afraid of you and I will not let you bully me or anyone else in America,” Bloomberg continued.