During an appearance on MSNBC's "The Weekend," the Republican mayor of Mesa, Arizona spoke about his recent endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris and warned a return of Donald Trump to the Oval Office would be devastating to cities like his.
Speaking with co-hosts Symone Sanders-Townsend and Michael Steele, Mayor John Giles explained that he has been mayor since Barack Oabama was president and that his city suffered the most during Donald Trump's four years in office.
Giles, who drew national attention with a column in the AzCentral where he announced his support for Vice President Kamala Harris, explained, "I have been the mayor for 10 years now, under President Obama, president Trump and President Biden and I have seen the impact that a presidential administration can have on cities."
"During the Trump administration, cities were largely ignored, during the Biden administration, we have enjoyed a good relationship and we have seen record investment in our communities and we are seeing economic prosperity as a result of that," he elaborated. "And so I thought it was — I am a Republican, but I'm elected to be a nonpartisan mayor. My city council is made up of Democrats and Independents and Republicans and we all get along very well and we do a great job when we focus on the problems that are in front of us, rather than getting into the weeds and trying to be partisan."
"So, that was really the context that compelled me to speak up in this situation," he continued. "My city would not be well served by a second Trump presidency. Again, we would go back to being largely ignored and really, even more than that, the subject of hostile attacks from the federal government. And so I thought in the best interest of my city it was important that I speak up; silence in this situation was not an option."
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