Critics demolish liberal DC mayor for forgetting where her own city's Metro lines go: 'Absolute embarrassment'

Democrat Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser was lambasted by critics this week for forgetting where her own city's Metro lines run.

The flub came during a Wednesday press conference as Bowser took a swipe at Virginia traffic amid her efforts to keep the Washington Wizards and Capitals, the city's professional basketball and hockey teams, from relocating to the state.

"I'm the D.C. mayor. I'm not an expert on their crime, but that traffic is notorious. So people know about it. And, I think—which lines go to that station?" Bower said, referencing the new Potomac Yards Metro station in Alexandria, Virginia, near the site of the proposed arena for the teams.

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D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during the Safeway 'Feast of Sharing' Thanksgiving event, at the Walter E. Washington Convention center in Washington, D.C., on November 22, 2023. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

"Blue and yellow," someone answered. 

Bowser repeated "blue and yellow," before attempting to name the Metro lines that run to Gallery Place, the Metro station that serves Capitol One Arena, where the teams currently play in D.C.

"So, every line goes to Gallery Place, right? Red, blue, orange and yellow. Yellow? And green. Is that right? I think that's right," Bowser said, appearing confused.

Muriel Bowser, mayor of the District of Columbia, during an interview in Washington, D.C., on Friday, October 13, 2023. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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The red, green and yellow lines are the only lines that run through D.C.'s Gallery Place station, and the yellow and blue lines are the only lines that run through Alexandria's Potomac Yards station.

Critics, notably from both sides of the aisle, quickly took to social media to blast Bowser, with some calling her comments "embarrassing," and others questioning whether she ever rode the Metro.

"You gotta be kidding me..." Republican strategist John Burke wrote, while Jason Johnson, communications director for Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., wrote, "Our city leadership is an absolute embarrassment."

Thomas Falcigno, communications director for Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Ill., questioned the last time Bowser rode the Metro, and Doug Stafford, the chief strategist for Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., described city leadership as a "clownshow."

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"Of course she doesn't. . . . She rides around in black cars with private security while the city burns," Daily Caller reporter Henry Rodgers wrote, while Politico's Anthony Adragna called Bowser's comments "astounding."

"This is so embarrassing," Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman added.

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday that both teams would be moving out of D.C. and into a new $2 billion "world-class" entertainment complex in Alexandria.

The move comes as rising crime continues to grip D.C., but USA Today reported that a $36 million mortgage-type payment on the site has been weighing on the teams' owner, Ted Leonsis.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Bowser's office for comment.

Fox News' Greg Norman contributed to this report.

Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on X at @BGillespieAL.