New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was booed as he took the stage at a vigil for George Floyd in Brooklyn on Thursday.
As de Blasio and his wife, Chirlane McCray, were introduced and walked up to the podium, many in the crowd could be heard booing them in a video shared to Twitter by ABC News correspondent Dan Linden, even as their introducer asked the crowd to respect the two multiple times.
“Let us welcome, with respect, the mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio.”
Crowd answers with loud boos at Brooklyn vigil for George Floyd. https://t.co/sRjzb8ejYu pic.twitter.com/nrNbNBa4Rl
— Dan Linden (@DanLinden) June 4, 2020
The mayor has come under intense criticism for his response to the protests that have stemmed from the death of Floyd, who died on May 25 after a Minneapolis police officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes, video of the event shows.
After New York City’s 8 p.m. curfew went into effect Wednesday, clashes between protesters and police quickly escalated, videos from the New York Times show.
De Blasio repeated his support of the curfew Thursday. “In the context of crisis, in the context of curfew, there is a point where enough is enough. If officers say now is the point we need you to go home, it’s time to go home,” de Blasio said, according to The New York Times.
Eric Ulrich, a Republican councilman from Queens, called for de Blasio to resign over his failure to prevent violence from occurring Wednesday evening, urging New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to “step in & remove him from office,” and adding that he would call for a vote of no confidence in the New York City council.
I just woke up & NYC is still smoldering from civil unrest. @NYCMayor has lost control of the situation. Even some of his closest allies have abandoned ship. It’s time for @NYGovCuomo to step in & remove him from office. I will be calling for a vote of no confidence @NYCCouncil
— Eric Ulrich (@eric_ulrich) June 4, 2020
Many former aides to the mayor were quick to criticize his position on the protests, including roughly 400 current and former staffers who signed a public letter demanding de Blasio cut funding to the New York Police Department only hours after tensions escalated. (RELATED: John Kennedy Rips De Blasio’s Riot Response: ‘I Don’t See Him Carrying His Happy Ass Down There)
Responding to criticism early Thursday morning, the mayor said that he did not believe that his former aides fully grasped the situation saying that he was “not sure they understand the depth of the reality of what we’ve faced.”
“No matter what is happening around us, we’ve got to support each other,” the mayor said.
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