Kansans to Mayor Eric Adams: Follow the yellow brick road … and keep walking!
New York’s mayor infuriated Midwesterners by claiming that “Kansas doesn’t have a brand” during a news conference at which he discussed his recent visits to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
Adams boasted about the positive reaction he got when locals saw him wearing a government-issued polo shirt with the word “Mayor” on the back.
“We have a brand. New York has a brand and when people see it, it means something,” Adams crowed Tuesday.
The mayor then cracked himself up by comparing the Big Apple to the Sunflower State.
“Kansas doesn’t have a brand,” he said.
Laughing, Adams added, “When you go there, you’re, ‘OK, you from Kansas?’ No.”
The reaction from Kansans was harsh, with former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeting, “Mayor Adams brand? Crime, Violence and crushing taxes.”
Mayor Eric Adams took a swipe at Kansas for not having “a brand.” Robert Miller“Kansas brand? Nation’s breadbasket and aviation capital of the world, all powered by hard-working, decent people who put family, faith, and community first,” he added.
US Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) also wrote: “Kansas has KS wheat, Jayhawk basketball, KS beef, and the Wizard of Oz.”
“What’s New York Mayor Adams’ brand? Violence, murder, homelessness, and high taxes? I’ll take Kansas any day,” Marshall tweeted.
Emmy-winning former “Modern Family” star Eric Stonestreet tweeted: “I’m from Kansas and have been to New York many times.”
“I find beauty in both places and with the people from both places. Too bad NYC’s elected leader can’t say the same thing,” he wrote.
In a follow-up tweet, Stonestreet also scolded “the people standing there laughing,” saying: “You’re somehow less dignified than the unfunny and unnecessary comment.”
Other famous Kansans include: “SNL and Ted Lasso” star Jason Sudeikis, actor Paul Rudd, “SNL” star Heidi Gardner, “Cheers” star Kirstie Alley, “Miami Vice” legend Don Johnson, Oscar nominee Annette Benning, comic actor Rob Riggle and singer/actor Janelle Monáe.
On Facebook, Kansas TV station KWCH asked its viewers to weigh in on Adams’ remarks, prompting one to suggest: “I say we send him a bus load of angry Badgers.”
Critics argued Kansas isn’t plagued by crime compared to the Big Apple. Facebook/Stephen TudayAnother wrote: “We don’t defund our police and let criminals out of jail so they can terrorize our citizens.”
“Consider the source. He can’t clean up his own backyard so he trashes someone else’s,” another fumed.
The controversy isn’t the first time Adams has publicly attacked the nation’s heartland.
Republicans, including US Sen. Roger Marshall, blasted Adams for trashing Kansas. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
Adams recently toured San Juan, Puerto Rico, with Mayor Miguel Romero. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography OfficeAs a mayoral candidate in 2020, he denounced gentrification in New York City by blasting Midwesterners for flocking to the Big Apple.
“Go back to Iowa, you go back to Ohio,” he said during a speech in Harlem on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“New York City belongs to the people that was here and made New York City what it is.”
