Seattle mayor laughs and waves goodbye to millionaires who want to leave the state
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson laughed off millionaires who wanted to flee the state over taxation and waved bye during an event earlier this month.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson's gaffe "pattern" was called out by Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat in a piece published Saturday, as the far-left mayor continues to face backlash over her viral dismissal of wealthy residents in her state.
"A first political gaffe is like the first time you forgot to do your homework," Westneat wrote. "It leaves a pit in the stomach, and maybe you get an F that day, but it’s only a lasting big deal if you keep repeating the mistake. So a second gaffe is more a cause for concern. By the third gaffe, we have a trend."
Wilson went viral after she waved goodbye to millionaires who want to flee the state during an interview in April.
"This was my uncomfortable feeling watching Seattle’s new mayor, Katie Wilson, in that Seattle University event video that’s now ricocheting all over the country," Westneat continued.
SOCIALIST MAYOR’S BLUNT 1-WORD MESSAGE TO FLEEING MILLIONAIRES SPARKS OUTRAGE: ‘WE'RE DOOMED’
The Washington Post editorial board on Friday lambasted Seattle’s socialist Mayor Katie Wilson for dismissive comments regarding the city’s exodus of wealthy residents and growing taxpayer frustration over soaring rates. (David Ryder/Reuters)
The Seattle Times columnist highlighted two other gaffes. He pointed out one from February, as she spoke to a room of supporters.
"This city is filthy rich," she said.
The other gaffe Westneat highlighted was one from November, in which she joined a Starbucks protest.
After winning the mayoral election in 2025, Wilson joined a Starbucks protest picket line, and said, "That is why I am proud to join them on their picket line and proud to say loud and clear, I am not buying Starbucks and you should not either," according to KUOW.
Fox 13 Seattle reported earlier this month that the Emerald City "could lose up to $750 million in tax revenue in the coming years as Starbucks expands in Tennessee instead of Washington."
Katie Wilson, Seattle’s new self-proclaimed socialist mayor, sparked a social media firestorm after she gave her take on reports that millionaires are fleeing Washington state due to taxes and various far-left policies. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
In a press release on April 21, Starbucks announced it will invest $100 million and bring 2,000 new jobs to Nashville.
"I’m not sure these were accidental, but in all three cases, they were revealing," Westneat wrote. "It would be easy for a mayor to lend support to striking workers without also urging a companywide boycott. It would be unremarkable for a Seattle mayor to talk about wealth disparities, but ‘filthy rich’ is definitely impolitic. And now, the waving goodbye."
"Instead the story now is Seattle’s new mayor waving them out of town, while the crowd cheers," Westneat continued. "Story’s got to change, or Starbucks won’t be the last to go."
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Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson's staff abruptly ended an interview with a local news reporter last week after he pressed her on rising gun violence and surveillance cameras in the city after a recent shooting. (David Ryder/Reuters)
The Seattle Times columnist also quoted former Democratic state legislator Reuven Carlyle, who said, "It’s just a horrible strategic mistake, to have the Seattle mayor effectively be saying 'fine, go away.'"
"But you can do it without villainizing people," he added. "The language matters. Rhetoric matters. You’re going to wave goodbye to your hometown entrepreneurs? We can’t pretend that that rhetoric doesn’t have a serious impact."
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Wilson's office did not immediately return a request for comment.
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