Woke Chicago mayor gives word salad answer when asked if taxpayers funded his trip to DC to attend anti-Trump protest
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson was clearly caught off guard when a reporter asked whether his recent trip to Washington DC was funded by taxpayers.
Johnson was one of the final speakers at the State of the Swamp: A Night of Defiance event at the nation’s capital on Tuesday night.
The evening was organized by Defiance, a members-only organization that financially supports opposition groups to the Trump administration.
Defiance invited prominent members of the left for a counter-event to Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech.
Johnson was asked at a press conference on Wednesday if taxpayers funded his trip to DC, and why he could not stream his rebuttal on social media from Chicago.
The mayor seemed taken aback by the question and gestured to his team while the reporter spoke.
‘I’m the mayor of the city of Chicago. I represent Chicago and that is well within the parameters of my job. I don’t stop being mayor because the president of the United States of America can’t figure out which direction that the country needs to go into,’ he began.
Johnson said he believes that, as a mayor, he has a duty to protect the people of Chicago, whether in the city or in DC.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson was one of the many speakers at a counter-event to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. He’s pictured above on Tuesday night giving his speech
Johnson was one of many leaders on the left to speak at the State of the Swamp event in Washington DC on Tuesday, pictured above
Johnson was asked at a press conference on Wednesday, pictured above, if the trip was funded using taxpayer dollars. He did not give a clear response to the question
‘I don’t take that hat off simply because I’m out of the city of Chicago, in fact, what was actually on display last night – you saw people from around the country organizing around a collective vision to ensure that working people are prioritized,’ he continued.
Johnson then slammed the Trump administration for neglecting the working class and focusing efforts on the ‘ultra-rich.’
He praised the State of the Swamp event and said he was honored to join leaders like Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and actor Robert de Niro on stage.
‘In order for America to fully fulfill these promises for every single person, we have to prioritize everyday working people and I’m proud to stand in solidarity with people across this country,’ he said.
Johnson then thanked those in attendance and concluded the press conference. The mayor’s travel logs have not been made public, and it’s unclear how his trip to DC was paid for.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.
This is not the first time Johnson has come under fire for taxpayer-funded trips. In 2024, NBC Chicago published records they obtained detailing Johnson’s trip to Los Angeles earlier this month.
The mayor attended a conference for the African American Mayors Association on February 2 and the Grammy Awards two days later, according to his travel schedule obtained by the outlet.
Johnson defended his trip to DC as an opportunity to serve Chicago residents alongside other leaders unified in a vision to help working class Americans
Records revealed that the trip cost almost $8,000, excluding redacted transactions that the city said were concealed for privacy reasons.
Johnson reportedly traveled with his executive assistant, senior advisor, senior project manager, and four other redacted individuals who NBC said appeared to be members of his security team.
David Greising, a member of the Better Government Association, told the outlet that the office’s decision to redact parts of Johnson’s travel logs showed a lack of transparency with his constituents.
‘When you’re the mayor of a city like Chicago, the public has a right to know what you are doing on their behalf and is owed explanation of why that’s a valuable investment on our part as taxpayers,’ he said.
Greising accused Johnson of enjoying the ‘trappings of office’ more than the public parts of his work, adding he believed the mayor could improve on being responsive to questions from the media and constituents.
Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker are frequent critics of the Trump administration. The two are pictured above during a press conference in September
President Donald Trump gave a lengthy speech to Congress in support of his administraton’s policies on Tuesda. He’s pictured above greeting representatives in the House Chamber
Johnson has frequently been seen at protests against the Trump administration. He’s pictured above on January 25 at a protest against ICE enforcement
However, it is not uncommon for members of public office to travel on the taxpayers’ dime.
A 2024 investigation by the watchdog organization OpenSecrets revealed that members of Congress spent millions on travel expenses in 2023.
Republicans outspent their Democratic counterparts by nearly $8 million, with eight out of the top 10 biggest spenders being Republican.
The Boston Herald revealed last September that elected officials across Massachusetts spent thousands of dollars on travel over the summer.
The president is also reported to be a big spender of government dollars, with a Government Accountability Office report estimating that four trips to his residence at Mar-a-Lago in Florida cost taxpayers $13.6 million.
