The following is a transcript of an interview with Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott that aired on March 31, 2024.
ED O’KEEFE: We flip now to the Mayor of Baltimore Brandon Scott. Mr. Mayor, thanks for spending a part of Easter with us. We respect it. After this bridge collapse, this previous week in your metropolis, what’s the most pressing want proper now in Baltimore?
MAYOR BRANDON SCOTT: Well the most pressing want, as a result of our focus will at all times be on these households. I’m speaking focus on the complete impression on people, proper. And that begins with the lack of life. That then goes to what is going on to occur for these households, after which the financial realities following this. And that is the place our focus goes to proceed to be. We have the salvage operation underway as of yesterday, with one crane and one barge working to begin to reduce a few of the bridge out, that work is going on by means of the unified command. But we’re and at all times might be centered on the human impression of this tragedy.
ED O’KEEFE: Well, let’s discuss just a little bit about that. What extra are you able to as a metropolis be doing for these 4 households, after which extra broadly, for the roughly 15,000 employees whose jobs are tied in a method or one other, to the Port of Baltimore?
MAYOR BRANDON SCOTT: Well, hear, I stated from day one, that my workplace could be there to help the households in each method potential. And it isn’t simply me, our companions and Governor Moore and his administration, my companions in Baltimore County Executive Olszewski and County Executive Pittman and their administration, my Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, has work with nonprofit teams that work with immigrants to arrange case administration for these people, we already arrange a fund that now has over $300,000 into it for these households, and we are going to help them all through this. That might imply that they want ongoing trauma care, that may imply in the future, they need assistance with totally different jobs and issues like that. But we additionally need to focus on the impression of the employees and the companies at the port. I first need to be grateful to President Biden for having the SBA enable us now to have these companies apply for grants by means of SBA to have the ability to hold their enterprise open, hold these people employed. We’ve been working alongside- and grateful for Governor Moore for making that ask, that is a robust signal of management for these employees in these companies. We don’t need these small companies to go away. We don’t need these jobs and my residents and everybody’s residents rely on, to go away. We’re truly opening up a middle at 1501 South Clinton Street tomorrow morning, the place the people can come at afternoon at 1pm to come back see the SBA. We’ll have our workplace on- on their on standby, will probably be open each single day this week. Very gracious and grateful to the people that take care of us for permitting us to have it there. So that we are able to be capable of assist these people which might be impacted in each method. But as I at all times say, in conditions like this, we’ve to begin with these most straight impacted. And that’s, in fact, these households.
ED O’KEEFE: You’re speaking, if you say SBA, about the Small Business Administration that is providing now loans of as much as about $2 million to the affected corporations. You know, in the end, Congress is probably going going to need to become involved in a few of this to offer federal aid. What if any type of direct outreach have you ever accomplished to lawmakers in each events to attempt to make the case for what Baltimore wants?
MAYOR BRANDON SCOTT: Well, hear, I’ve the greatest congressional delegation in the United States Congress. And Senator Cardin, Senator Van Hollen, Congressman Mfume, even Congressman Raskin, Congressman Trone, they’ve all been there on the floor. I haven’t got to achieve out to them as a result of they have been there on website, speaking with us, speaking with the impacted people. And we all know that they’re going to do all the things of their energy to carry again sources for this tragedy that does not simply impression the metropolis of Baltimore and the state of Maryland. This port is the primary port for automobiles and farm gear. So this issues to people in rural North Carolina, in Kansas, and Iowa, this issues to the international economic system. And it doesn’t, this shouldn’t be one thing that has something or any dialog round occasion. We are speaking about an American tragedy to an American metropolis, American port metropolis, meaning a lot to this nation in the world, and no occasion dialog must be concerned in any respect.
ED O’KEEFE: Secretary Buttigieg advised us a short while in the past that there is nonetheless no sense of how rapidly this cleanup will occur, or how rapidly the bridge will get rebuilt. What occurs to the economic system of Baltimore in the meantime?
MAYOR BRANDON SCOTT: Well, proper now, that is the issues that we’re , proper? We’re how we’ll offload a few of the stuff that’s in the port and possibly use our companions at Tradepoint Atlantic to assist with a few of that. We clearly have some stuff on trains that may exit,. This is why it is so necessary for the SBA and what they’re doing. We be told- I’ll be assembly with labor leaders in the precise employees myself tomorrow to speak about what sort of different help that they want, whereas all of us wrap our heads round and work out how we are able to help them and hold as a lot commerce flowing as potential. This goes to be an extended highway. This is just not going to be a dash. This is a marathon and as I stated yesterday, with you recognize something about lengthy distance working, the people who get out rapidly, by no means win. We are going to win, as a result of we’ll make each single step have the proper tempo, the focus and a spotlight on each element that we have to to ensure that we not solely construct again this bridge. That we focus on these people impacted, and each single element of that.
ED O’KEEFE: This was a tragic accident. But it appears today when one thing like this occurs on this nation, there are at all times conspiracy theories and lots of misinformation thrown round. And in the case of this accident, some downright nasty issues stated about you on-line this week. I’ve bought to ask you one in all the wilder issues is a few conservative critics blamed the bridge collapse on variety, fairness and inclusion insurance policies in Maryland. Diversity, fairness inclusion, higher often known as DEI to lots of people. They referred to as you, some critics, “the DEI mayor.” What did you make of that if you heard it?
MAYOR BRANDON SCOTT: Well, as I’ve stated, already this week, we all know. Listen, I’m a younger black man and younger black mayor on this nation. We know that there are lots of racism, people who do not assume I must be on this job. I do know that, I’ve been Black my complete life. I understand how racism- racism goes on this nation. But my focus is at all times going to be on these folks. I did not need to be on the market that evening asking- answering questions on DEI. I’m anxious about the lack of life. We understand how ridiculous that’s. Those people are afraid as I stated this week, to make use of the N-word. This shouldn’t be even in dialog. We have to stay centered on the mission at hand and proceed from my vantage level to show these folks improper about those who appear like me by doing my job in the greatest method that I can. And ignoring the noise of parents who merely need to be units and are afraid that their lifestyle the place folks that do not appear like them and assume like them might be in management might be in energy and truly be higher at the job.
ED O’KEEFE: Well, we thanks for spending a while on this Easter speaking to us about the state of affairs. As you stated, it is a marathon. We’ll possible be with you thru a few of the different miles of this and for now, pleased Easter and thanks once more.
MAYOR BRANDON SCOTT: Thank you. Happy Easter.
