A longtime critic, Eric Trump showed an unusual appreciation for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio for keeping two rinks run by the Trump organization open.
But the city is refusing to abandon its attempt to cut ties with Donald Trump’s companies in the aftermath of the US Capitol riot that the former president is accused of inciting, an allegation he denies.
Last month, de Blasio announced that NYC would end three contracts with the Trump organization following the January 6 attack on the Capitol. The decision covers the Central Park Carousel, Wollman and Lasker ice rinks and Ferry Point golf course, all of which are operated. through Trump’s business empire.
“The president instigated an uprising against the US government that killed five people and threatened to derail the constitutional transfer of power,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement last month, adding that the city will not be linked. with those unpardonable deeds in any shape, manner or form. “
After the planned closure of the rinks in Central Park met local criticism, the Blasio’s press secretary, Bill Neidhardt, said the rinks will remain open for the remainder of the season, but reiterated that the city will “ not do business with the Trump organization. ahead, ”reported The Associated Press.
“The provocation of a rebellion will never be forgotten or forgiven,” said Neidhardt.
Eric Trump, the son of the former president and executive president of the Trump Organization, responded to the news with heartfelt gratitude to the mayor, a vocal critic of his father.
“Mr. Mayor, thank you for keeping Wollman and Lasker Rinks open – you’ve just made countless families in NYC (along with our 250 employees) incredibly happy,” Trump tweeted Sunday. “This is a great moment for New York and please know that we appreciate it. I look forward to saying ‘thank you’ personally.”
Newsweek has contacted de Blasio’s office for comment.
The decision was also welcomed by members of the community who protested the shuttering of the ice rinks. The local nonprofit Ice Hockey in Harlem hailed the reopening of its “home” Lasker Rink as an “incredible turn of events”.
High school student Serena Sabet, who collected more than 6,000 signatures on an online petition to keep the rinks open, said there were “no dry eyes on the rink” when the decision was announced.
According to the AP. Erik Trump had previously complained that the rink closure was “purely a political stunt that only hurts New Yorkers”.
Instead of focusing on a dying city everyone is leaving due to increasing crime, high taxes, closed businesses and totally incompetent leadership, the mayor paints signs in front of Trump Tower trying to destroy the only outdoor activity available to children during a pandemic, ” Trump said in a statement.
Trump did not seem fond of de Blasio in the past, as he was mostly critical of the Democratic mayor for alleged bias against law enforcement. In July 2019, Trump called de Blasio a “disgrace to NYC,” loathed by “virtually everyone in the NYPD.”
In a 2020 appearance on Fox News, Trump called de Blasio “anti-agent” and claimed his policies had made New York “more dangerous.”
“He’s been so anti-law enforcement, and it shows,” Trump said. “He allows them to be beaten up, attacked them and takes away their rights.”
In May 2019, after De Blasio held a press conference in the Trump Tower lobby urging the Trump organization to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Trump called the event “childish.”
“The fact that the mayor of a major city would attack an iconic organization (which employs thousands of hardworking New York taxpayers) for its own political gain is abuse of power, unethical and simply counterintuitive,” Trump tweeted.
Olivier DOULIERY / AFP