On Wednesday, ABC’s Good Morning America continued to highlight how dire things had gotten for downtown San Francisco, California as yet another major retailer, the Westville Mall was closing due to losing 45 percent of the shops it housed. But despite admitting that San Francisco was becoming a “zombie city” and the area around the mall and downtown were too unsafe for their crew, they refused to mention that the city’s purely liberal policies were the source of the problem.
“There’s concern San Francisco could turn into a so-called zombie city with its downtown hollowed out by a fentanyl epidemic, pervasive homelessness, and fleeing retailers,” chief national correspondent Matt Gutman informed viewers.
He described how the mall was at “the epicenter of a growing real estate dead zone in a major American city battling rising crime, soaring real estate prices, and a homelessness crisis” and “Union Square used to be the beating heart of San Francisco but a recent survey found that since 2019, nearly 50 percent of all the stories here have left.”
He spoke with one female tourist who said when she was in the city in 2019 it was beautiful, but now she’s “scared” and was thinking of going to a different hotel. Gutman gave credence to her fears, noting: “In the first quarter of the year, the city saw a 16 percent rise in robberies and a 41 percent spike in fentanyl deaths over the same period in 2022.”
Gutman actually shared a soundbite of him confronting Democratic Mayor London Breed on the deteriorating safety situation, in which the Mayor tried to focus on those staying instead of the exodus:
GUTMAN: You're seeing it all over right now. Companies are leaving the city. Is San Francisco dangerous?
BREED: Well, here's the thing, San Francisco is a major city and it has challenges. But let's back up a little bit. You are talking about people leaving the city but not the people who are staying, expanding, coming to San Francisco.
After the soundbite, Gutman pushed back on the Mayor’s false claims that downtown was safe by noting that his crew wasn’t broadcasting live from the mall because they were “advised it is simply too dangerous to be there at this hour.” This said a lot when considering the fact Gutman had reported from war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan.
But while it’s partly commendable that Gutman noted that San Francisco, along with “other West Coast cities including Portland, Seattle, and Los Angeles” were experiencing “downtown decay,” he failed to expose the reason: radical liberal policies.
Earlier this year, Breed moved forward with her plan to facilitate hard narcotic use in the city. And the residents have been so fed up with their weak-on-crime leaders that they recalled far-left District Attorney Chesa Boudin for refusing to prosecute criminals. But still, crime runs rampant. Hence why ABC gawked at the surge in shoplifting attacks on stores in the area just last month.
ABC looks on at what’s happening in San Francisco as if it was a mystery that couldn’t be solved.
ABC’s silence on why San Francisco was such a mess was because of lucrative sponsorships from Disney and Unilever. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s Good Morning America
June 14, 2023
8:13:34 a.m. EasternREBECCA JARVIS: We turn now to San Francisco, a major mall downtown pulling out of the city citing sharply declining sales, fewer shoppers, and more. And it was the latest in a series of companies pulling out of San Francisco and another blow to one of the largest urban economies in the country. Our chief national correspondent Matt Gutman is there with more. Good morning, Matt.
MATT GUTMAN: Good morning, Rebecca. There’s concern San Francisco could turn into a so-called zombie city with its downtown hollowed out by a fentanyl epidemic, pervasive homelessness, and fleeing retailers. And you just mentioned that last significant hit the biggest mall in the city right in downtown is leaving.
[Cuts to video]
This morning, a San Francisco mall at the epicenter of a growing real estate dead zone in a major American city battling rising crime, soaring real estate prices, and a homelessness crisis, the city dealt its latest blow this week: Westville, which owns the city’s largest mall stopped paying its half-billion-dollar mortgage and is surrendering the property to lenders.
The company citing “demonically decreased occupancy, down to approximately 55 percent.” Including already announced closures of tenant such as Nordstrom, Banana Republic, and others.
Also giving up on downtown, hundreds of other companies including Gap and Whole Foods.
Union square used to be the beating heart of San Francisco but recent survey found that since 2019, nearly 50 percent of all the stories here have left. Now, it’s empty storefront after empty storefront after empty storefront.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: The last time I was here was the 2019. So, it was great back then but now it's like I'm scared. I was thinking to switch my hotel.
GUTMAN: In the first quarter of the year, the city saw a 16 percent rise in robberies and a 41 percent spike in fentanyl deaths over the same period in 2022.
You're seeing it all over right now. Companies are leaving the city. Is San Francisco dangerous?
MAYOR LONDON BREED (D): Well, here's the thing, San Francisco is a major city and it has challenges. But let's back up a little bit. You are talking about people leaving the city but not the people who are staying, expanding, coming to San Francisco.
GUTMAN: But it’s not just San Francisco. Other West Coast cities including Portland, Seattle, and Los Angeles also suffering from a similar trend of downtown decay.
[Cuts back to live]
GUTMAN: The mayor noting that several metrics of crime are actually flat or down. But it is worth mentioning that we are not at Union Square or the Westfield Mall this morning because we have been advised it is simply too dangerous to be there at this hour.
