Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson was mocked online after posting an awkward dance video to announce his reelection campaign, as critics continued to attack his record on crime in the Windy City.
Johnson, 50, performed stiff dance moves on a Chicago rooftop while lip-syncing to Kiesza’s “Hideaway.” A group of young people danced behind him, including a woman wearing an “I [heart] DEI” T-shirt.
“POV: News just dropped that Mayor Brandon Johnson is running for re-election!” read the caption on the 12-second Instagram video, which showed Johnson gyrating in a gray business suit.
The video quickly drew criticism, with Instagram users ridiculing its awkward presentation and questioning Johnson’s performance as mayor.
“No solidified plan, just dancing,” one unimpressed commenter wrote.
“This video is just another reason as to why he’s NOT getting our votes,” another person posted.
“Is this a joke?” a third commenter asked.
The footage recalled a similarly awkward campaign video featuring Johnson’s predecessor, Lori Lightfoot. During her 2023 reelection campaign, Lightfoot danced in Chicago streets as a drumline performed nearby.
Johnson’s upbeat campaign message came as his tenure has faced sustained criticism over public safety. Chicago Police statistics show overall crime rose 27% through 2025 compared with the previous four years. The city has also reported a troubling increase in antisemitic hate crimes.
The mayor has additionally faced repeated criticism over accusations that his comments have inflamed racial tensions, as well as over a series of unusual public statements.
Before taking office, Johnson drew criticism after warning against “demonizing” young people involved in violent “teen takeovers” in downtown Chicago. The incidents included cars being set on fire, damage to private property and clashes between groups of youths and police officers.
Following a bloody holiday weekend in Chicago that left 19 people dead, Johnson held a press conference in which he pointed to former President Richard Nixon as part of the explanation.
“Black death has been unfortunately been accepted in this country for a very long time,” the mayor claimed without providing evidence.
“We had a chance 60 years ago to get at the root causes. And people mocked President Johnson, and we ended up with Richard Nixon,” he said without elaborating further.
Jewish leaders and organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, have called on Johnson to create an antisemitism task force to protect Chicago’s Jewish community. The requests followed a Chicago Commission on Human Relations report finding that hate crimes against Jewish people increased 58% from 2023 to 2024.
No such task force has yet been established, however the city has put several others together, including the Task Force on Missing and Murdered Chicago Women, which focuses on policy changes to address violence against women, and the Reparations Task Force.
Chicago also established a Task Force on Black Immigrants that investigates social and economic conditions for black immigrants in Illinois.
Johnson was criticized in April when he linked the restaurant industry to “slavery” during a battle with the City Council to eliminate the tipped wage.
“You just watched the entire city council, in transparency, try to take wages away from the very people who are part of an industry that has its ties to slavery is hiding from that,” Johnson said.
“I am boldly declaring that we need reparations in this city, and that’s why I’m funding it.”
Over the summer, Johnson bafflingly declared he was reupping the city’s “Trans Femicide State of Emergency” to highlight violence against transgender women — despite just one reported killing of a trans person this year, compared with nearly 300 other murders across the city.
Johnson is determined to press on, despite abysmally low approval ratings — a recent University of Chicago survey showing just 13.6% of likely voters want him to run again.
He will face an uphill battle in the February 2027 mayoral race, vying for the position with candidates including Chicago Housing Authority CEO Matt Brewer, former Chicago alderman George Cardenas and Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias.
