We’ve chronicled the downfall of many of our major cities — most run by Democrats — as homelessness, crime, high taxes, and grime have whittled away the quality of life to the point where many residents are ditching places like Los Angeles. (See Ward Clark’s excellent series, appropriately titled, The Downfall of America’s Cities.)
Seattle, it could be argued, is the poster child for the tragedy that has befallen our beleaguered metropolises. Dangerous, dirty (and rainy), it often looks like it could be the set for a Blade Runner movie. If you’re a resident of the Emerald City, they don’t care about you, but if you’re a foreign visitor and/or you’re bringing television cameras, suddenly you’re a VIP.
And authorities aren’t about to let the rest of the world see the mess they’ve made, so they’re frantically cleaning up the cr*p before the FIFA World Cup (soccer, for those who aren't familiar) comes to town this summer.
It would appear to be a rather gross effort:
Seattle is ramping up cleanup efforts as it prepares to welcome tens of thousands of visitors for the FIFA World Cup this summer, with a new report highlighting millions of pounds of waste removed, hundreds of thousands of sharps collected, and growing community participation across neighborhoods.
Wait, didn't they just do this a year ago? Yup:
In 2025, Seattle Clean City and its partners collected and removed 5.3 million pounds of waste from the right-of-way, an amount the report compares to “the weight of about 530 orca whales.”
Crews and partners also collected and disposed of 661,105 sharps, i.e., needles.
After this week’s MEGA sweep in several Beacon Hill parks, all the homeless drug addicts are back. The current plan is not working.
— Jonathan Choe (@choeshow) April 11, 2026
Btw, the first FIFA World Cup game in Seattle will be on June 15.
Tick tock. @MayorofSeattle https://t.co/PP5cX29Wqw
We’ve seen this movie before, several times in fact. In San Francisco, the city known for poop maps, they did a quick makeover in 2023 for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s tête-à-tête with Joe Biden. As our Sister Toldjah reported, CA Gov. Gavin Newsom made a rather startling admission:
After San Francisco was magically cleaned up ahead of Xi Jinping's visit, Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom says:
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 13, 2023
"I know folks say, 'Oh, they're just cleaning up this place because all these fancy leaders are coming into town.' That's true because it's true." pic.twitter.com/gMaKBtRq5f
Of course, the minute Jinping left, things went back to the way they were (and are now).
MORE: WATCH: An Unwitting Newsom Hands DeSantis a Pre-Debate Gift in Announcement on APEC Preparations
It’s not what city leaders do before big events that’s important — and that’s where “progressive” politicians fail so miserably. Their soft-on-crime policies, their failed homelessness efforts, and their tolerance for garbage-strewn streets come right back once the cameras are off, and it’s the residents who pay the price.
NEW: Holy crap! The latest drug encampment at 10th Ave S. & S. Weller St in Chinatown-ID is massive.
— Jonathan Choe (@choeshow) April 13, 2026
There are at least 25 people living here.
Once again, Mayor Katie Wilson is allowing this Asian American community to turn into a human dumping ground. She sweeps the rest of… https://t.co/kC5fFy1mT8 pic.twitter.com/HsV9dFzGKa
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