Baltimore mayor slams people saying DEI caused bridge collapse

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott scoffed at the nickname " DEI Mayor " given to him by critics amid the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.

One post on X referred to Scott by the nickname under a clip of the mayor giving a news conference following the collapse. While the platform gave the post a "Community Note" correcting the narrative and asserting that Scott won the office with over 70% of the vote, the post garnered over 25 million views.

"Well, I think, listen, I know, and we know, and you know very well that black men — and young black men in particular — have been the bogeyman for those who are racist and think that only straight, wealthy white men should have a say in anything," Scott said on MSNBC's The ReidOut. "And what they mean by DEI in my opinion is 'duly elected incumbent.' We know what they want to say, but they don’t have the courage to say the N-word. The fact that I don’t believe in their untruthful and wrong ideology and I’m very proud of my heritage and where I come from, scares them."

The large cargo ship lost power before it struck the bridge's support column. It was able to send a mayday distress signal, which alerted authorities to stop traffic from entering the bridge.

A crew of six construction workers were on the bridge when it collapsed. Divers recovered two of the men's bodies from the river, while the others are presumed dead. The two identified were Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, from Mexico and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, from Guatemala. The other workers were from Honduras and El Salvador.

"God bless them and to anybody who has anything negative to say about this mayor or those people," Reid said, referring to Scott and the late workers. "We know who you are. We see you. We see what you mean when you say 'DEI.' We get it."

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Between $100 million and $200 million worth of cargo moves through the Baltimore port every day. With the bridge collapse, there are 10 cargo ships currently stuck. As a result, ports in Virginia are soliciting more traffic there to avoid the wreckage.

President Joe Biden has committed to funding the bridge's reconstruction. However, this could be a long road in a divided Congress during an election year. It remains to be seen how much the reconstruction could cost.