Rita Cosby Show: Sheriff David Clarke ‘opens fire’ on Mayor de Blasio during interview
journalist Rita Cosby continues to be a friend to Conservative Base and to the Chiefs of Police Association.
In an exclusive interview, the recently retired Sheriff David Clarke did not hold back when talking about Sanctuary Cities, Antifa, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, the mayor’s strained relationship with the police, his reported Trump Administration job offer and his own political future.
No nonsense former Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Sheriff David Clarke blasted NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, saying cops were right to turn their backs on the mayor at police funerals because “the mayor turned his back on them… For the mayor to toss the fine officers of the NYPD under the bus like he did, after a tragic incident here in New York City, I thought was a shame. I really did.” He said voters should not make the “mistake” of re-electing de Blasio, who is running now for a second term. “You made that mistake once… Don’t do it again.”
Clarke made the remarks at a WABC Radio “Pubs and Politics” event during an interview on stage with host Rita Cosby in Manhattan on Thursday night. Saying he’s seen during his recent visits “the quality of life slip” in New York City, he mentioned vandalism, homelessness, degrading infrastructure and the decaying quality of public school education. “Mayor de Blasio was handed a great city by his predecessors… He took a pretty good thing, and it’s starting to deteriorate.”
The former lawman was sharply critical of political leaders of sanctuary cities, like NYC. He called for elected officials in such cities, who are defying federal laws, to be arrested. “There are certain things, including criminal prosecutions of city officials, of state officials, for harboring… knowingly harboring people who are in the country illegally.” He also proclaimed that the Antifa movement should be declared a “domestic terror organization.”
Clarke also said he was indeed offered a job as an assistant secretary in Donald Trump’s Homeland Security Department and that it was his choice to turn it down. “It wasn’t a rumor. It was true. It didn’t blow up” as some have reported. He said, contrary to reports, HE decided against taking the position after speaking with the President. “I thought I’d be buried in bureaucracy and I didn’t want to be there… It was my decision.”
For the first time, Clarke definitively said he will not run for Senate or another office, despite a vigorous “Draft Clarke” campaign by others in his home state of Wisconsin. “Sorry to disappoint, but it ain’t happening.” When pressed by Cosby, who questioned what he’d say if he were to be asked even by the President to run for office, Clarke didn’t waiver, and responded he’d still say no, “It’s not in the cards.”
A Verbatim Transcript of key parts is below with time codes matching the audio in the story link below.
SHERIFF DAVID CLARKE EXCLUSIVE
(Regarding endorsing any current NYC mayoral candidates who were present)
02:20 – “Now, I’m not going to take a side on any of the candidates that were here tonight, we’re going to allow that decision to be made by you, the people that live here and will have to live with that decision… but I’ll say this much about the current office holder: you made that mistake once, don’t do it again.”
(On fomer NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg)
04:40 – “Let me tell you a short story about Michael Bloomberg. I was up for re-election for sheriff in 2014, and it was going to be a tough race… all my races were tough. And Michael Bloomberg wrote a check for $150,000.00 to my opponent… why would he care about a sheriff’s race in Milwaukee, Wisconsin?”
(Regarding NYC Mayor de Blasio)
***05:07 – “I’m seeing the quality of life slip in this city, and it’s very noticeable to someone who’s maybe not here every day… I’m looking at some quality of life issues, I’m looking at the vandalism, I’m seeing the deterioration very quickly of infrastructure, and… you all know the conditions of the K-12 Public Schools in New York City, alright. That’s what a Mayor’s responsible for.”
(De Blasio/Police relations)
****07:05 – “For the Mayor to toss the fine officers of the NYPD under the bus like he did, after a tragic incident here in New York City, I thought it was a shame, I really did… and what transpired after that I think was much deserved when they turned their backs on the Mayor. I mean the Mayor turned his back on them.”
(on Antifa)
***15:19 – “As for Antifa… they should be labelled a domestic terror organization… these are anarchists that do not care about the American way of life.”
***(On arresting Mayors of Sanctuary Cities)
22:14 – SC: “There are certain things, including criminal prosecutions of city officials, of state officials, for harboring… knowingly harboring people who are in the country illegally.”
22:46 – Rita Cosby: “You believe that they should actually arrest somebody who is not enforcing the (federal) law, if it’s a mayor or somebody like that?”
22:53 – SC: “Yes, yes yes yes.”
22:57 – RC: “Wow”
22:59 – SC: “Well the statutes are already on the books, so we don’t have to create any new laws, we have to enforce the laws that exist on the books.”
***(On a potential run by him for Senate as has been reported)
26:32 – RC: “There’s this huge Draft Sheriff Clarke for Senate (campaign). What do you think? Will you run for office?”
26:43 – SC: “Sorry to disappoint, but it ain’t happening.”
(When pressed, if even the President asked/suggested him to run, he would still say no)
***27:48 – SC: “Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s just not in the cards.”
(On him suddenly not taking a position in the Trump Administration as was reported)
***30:55 – SC: “I felt DHS – it’s a massive bureaucracy, right, it’s the biggest one in the federal government – I thought I’d be buried in a bureaucracy, and I didn’t want to be there. So then I told (President Trump), I said I don’t think that’s the place for me, and he agreed, so we’ve had some other discussions. And now I’ve decided that the best place for me to be, is to be a part of the outside army to help this President.”
(Said of news reports that COS General Kelly blocked his move to the Trump Administration. Clarke said it was HIS own choice to turn job down.)
***31:22 – SC: “But the best part about it is that I made the decision – it was my decision, I made it – and so all the other nonsense that you’re hearing about it… believe what you want to believe… but… you’re hearing that from me.”
***(On his relationship with New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan)
32:42 – RC: “You know Cardinal Dolan!”
32:45 – SC: “Very well.”
32:45 – RC: “How do you know Cardinal Dolan?
32:48 – SC: “He’s a neat guy, he really is, with all due respect. He was the Archbishop for the Milwaukee Archdiocese before he became the Cardinal out here. And so I got to know him. He actually became a spiritual advisor of mine, we got together often for breakfast…. It was a great relationship.”
