At the end of his first full week as Philadelphia mayor, Jim Kenney found himself speaking at a Roundhouse press conference after police Officer Jesse Hartnett was nearly killed in an ambush-style shooting.
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Speaking about suspect Edward Archer, newly sworn-in Commissioner Richard Ross said, “According to him, police bend laws that are contrary to the teachings of the Quran.”
Kenney, however, declared that, “In no way shape or form does anyone in this room believe that Islam or the teaching of Islam has anything to do with what you’ve seen on the screen. It is abhorrent. It is terrible and it does not represent the religion or any of its teachings.”
Bilal Qayyum, a longtime social activist in Philadelphia and a Muslim, shared a sentiment similar to Kenney's:
However, suffice it to say, this garnered quite a reaction from those who believe Islam has something – or everything – to do with what they’ve seen on the screen.
A collection of those reactions appear beneath the video of the Roundhouse press conference that’s embedded below.
“This guy, mayor of Philadelphia, he's so far left he's off the horizon, sanctuary city, I mean, this guy's full-fledged wacko leftist. … Here you have the police commissioner quoting a suspect admitting why he did it, and the Looney Tune mayor comes in, nah, the suspect's an idiot, doesn't know what he's talking about. Doesn't represent Islam in any way? Is this guy Islamic? The mayor Islamic? Then how would he know? ‘It doesn't represent the religion in any way, shape or form or any of its teachings.’ It most certainly does. It most certainly does.”
Jimmy from Brooklyn, Limbaugh caller:
“This Muslim terrorist who shot the cop that you and the caller were just talking about, he said it's because the cops defend a system that's against Islam. That's exactly what the communists teach. In fact, Lenin himself wrote that in capitalist countries, cops and military are the force that keep capitalism in power and defend it, therefore we have to destroy it. It's not a coincidence that you see a lot of these radical Muslims sounding like and acting like communists, because they've had a connection for several decades.”
John McNesby, president, FOP Lodge 5, on Fox News:
"Whether it was Islam … whatever it was, he's a terrorist. He attacked one of our officers."
“The only thing I can think of is ‘Islamaphobia-phobia.’ This mayor is so new and so afraid of having something like this on his hands so early in his tenure that he’s going to go the other way, the other direction and call it something different. If you kill in the name of Islam, you’re an Islamic terrorist.”
“This is the peril facing America today: Home-grown citizens who, for whatever perverse reason, adopt and integrate Islam into their personal motivation for committing these hideous crimes.”
Breitbart.com commenter “aznative”:
“This mayor just committed treason. And seditious conspiracy just like Obama. They both can be removed from office. Islam, by law, is prohibited from US immigration.”
Craig Hepburn, Facebook commenter:
"Jim Kenney you have been in office for five days and you are already a failure and a fool. You made the national news already as a idiot Islamist apologist. Could this be the shortest honeymoon period ever or perhaps the shortest term as a mayor? You showed yourself to be a clown and a fool today."
“You are an idiot. Cop was shot in the name of Islam, Allah, and ISIS. and the shooter was let go on previous charges.
“Please stop the PC nonsense. This guy tried to assassinate a cop in the name of #islam and said so himself!”
“You are sorely mistaken. Does Allah have to take out a Superbowl ad saying his followers are here to kill us before you get it?”