Americans ranked Washington, DC the nation's 'least desirable' city for second year in a row
Washington, D.C. has been ranked America's "least desirable" city to live in for the second consecutive year, with one former resident warning a vote for Kamala Harris could lead the rest of the country down the same path.
"D.C. should be a big flashing warning sign to others in the country. If you want D.C. to be what our nation is going to look like, vote for Kamala and Walz," Adam Kelinsky, a resident who left the city for Virginia, told "Fox & Friends First" Wednesday.
"What they're going to do – that liberal agenda – that's going to proliferate throughout this country, and they're going to bring this country to their knees."
WASHINGTON, DC POLICE REUNITE WOMAN WITH FRENCH BULLDOG STOLEN DURING ARMED ROBBERY
Former Washington, D.C. resident Adam Kelinsky spoke to Fox News about his disdain for far-left policies he believes have led to a decline in his home city. (Fox & Friends First)
Researchers at Clever Real Estate surveyed 1,000 Americans in June on the best and worst places to live in 2024, with about 33% ranking the District of Columbia in the top five worst U.S. cities — up from 20% in 2023.
The nation's capital in recent years has been battling a series of problems, including violent crime, a massive influx of illegal immigrants, high living costs and homelessness.
"[Mayor] Bowser and the cronies of hers… she mimics them, she follows in their policies," Kelinsky said. "It's going to be prolifically pushed across the United States, so if we want D.C. to turn the United States [into] being the least desirable place to live, then vote for Kamala and Walz."
Kelinsky's H Street Corridor restaurant, the Pursuit Wine Bar & Kitchen, closed in 2023 after being burglarized five times that year.
"I think having my bar broken into five times, my family threatened by people on the streets, just knowing that at any point in time, harm could come to us… we just couldn't take it anymore, so we said, 'This is it. We're packing up, and we're getting out of here. It's tough to say that, being a third generation Washingtonian, right? To leave my city behind like that, that's a big deal," he said.
Former Washington, D.C. resident Adam Kelinsky believes electing Vice President Kamala Harris to the presidency will spread far-left policies that have led to decline in his home city. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Kelinsky blames the Biden-Harris administration for larger-scale issues like crime and a poor economy, and doesn't believe the vice president will walk back any of her previously-touted progressive stances if she wins the presidency.
"Crime is rampant. Inflation is out of control. These are going to be the same policies she's going to push for the next four years and the next four years after that, if they keep electing her," he said.
"I think the Democrats have Stockholm syndrome. They are too terrified to take help from the people that are actually going to make change and make things better."
Taylor Penley is an associate editor with Fox News.