Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has called President Donald Trump a "monster" over the administration's probe into the city's hiring practices for alleged discrimination.
Johnson claimed that Trump holds "animus towards women, people of color, [and] working people." He then added, "We have always known who he has been. This is not a surprise. He's a monster period. We have the most diverse administration in the history of Chicago, and he is threatened by that."
Johson added, "You can tell when someone is fearful is because they act out. We have a president that is screaming and having tantrums right now because we have an administration that reflects the city of Chicago. But he would much rather have administrations that reflect the country club. He is most comfortable around people who think and look like him."
Johnson made the comments as he was defending DEI practices in hiring as the DOJ is now probing the local government over the issue to see if Chicago engaged in race-based hiring, according to Fox 32. He went onto highlight the diversity of races across his leadership team, saying that 64 percent of his administration is made up of women, 34 percent are black, 30 percent are white, 25 percent are Hispanic, and 7 percent of his administration is Asian.
"The people of this city elected me to respond to decades-old systems of failure. And I made a commitment to bring everybody together to do just that. So that's why we're investing in our public education system. That impacts all of us. That's why I'm investing in the critical services like mental and (behavioral) health support, where our CARE program is now citywide. That impacts all of us," Johnson added.
He claimed that his administration reflects the "American Story." Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon wrote in a letter to Johnson, "Our investigation is based on information suggesting that you have made hiring decisions solely on the basis of race. In your remarks made yesterday at the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn, you 'highlight[ed] the number of black officials in [your] administration.'"
The letter said that Johnson's administration could be in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.