Marty Walsh Bashes Trump, Defends Sanctuary Cities on The Daily Show

The mayor also explained why people still attend Patriots' victory parades.

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Mayor Marty Walsh came out swinging against President Donald Trump when he joined Trevor Noah on The Daily Show Thursday night, vowing to defend Boston’s so-called “sanctuary city” protections for undocumented immigrants.

Noah asked about the Trump administration’s attempts to cut federal funding from sanctuary cities, which Walsh described as a misguided threat.

“It runs the city,” Walsh said of the federal funding. “The way I look at this, in this country, is that the economic engines are the major cities. So if you’re going to take money away from a major city like Boston and other cities across America, you’re doing damage to the economy and you’re hurting the economy.”

“That was a threat that really, in my opinion, I couldn’t take it anymore. I felt bad for the people who live in our city. I felt bad for people living in our country. I have family in Ireland and they’re texting me, ‘What’s going on in America?'”

Walsh made headlines last month when he announced he would use City Hall itself as a physical sanctuary to “protect anyone who is targeted unjustly.” He has since penned a CNN op-ed criticizing Trump’s executive orders, and sparred with WEEI’s Kirk & Callahan, who questioned Walsh’s ability to keep the city safe.

“I’m certainly concerned [about terrorism],” Walsh told Noah. “We had the Boston Marathon bombing in the city of Boston. But you can’t stereotype saying that every person that comes from a Muslim country or from the seven countries that they put on a list is a terrorist. They’re not terrorists. They’re good, hard-working people who want to earn a living.”

Noah thanked Walsh for honoring his commitment to appear on the show even after the Patriots won Super Bowl LI, and asked why a million people showed up at the victory parade despite having won four championships previously.

“I think it’s because it’s No. 5, and the whole country hates us, and they hate Tom Brady,” Walsh said. “They think he’s really handsome, but they hate him.”