An X post from @Milajoy shared a video from TikTok creator @brookerteejones, who walks through downtown Seattle pointing to storefronts she says once housed major retailers, including Old Navy, Anthropologie, The Loft, Abercrombie, and Macy's, all now vacant.
@Milajoy wrote in the caption, "Most downtown Seattle businesses are GONE because of leftist rule," listing Starbucks, Old Navy, and The Loft among the closures. The caption reflected a political interpretation of the closures that the video's own creator echoed.
The video begins with the TikToker naming a series of shops that have shut down in Seattle in recent years, including Ross, TJ Maxx, Hard Rock Cafe, Rocky Mountain Chocolate, and Lululemon, saying Ross had "just recently closed three months ago" and that TJ Maxx had "been closed for years."
@brookerteejones Seattle is a graveyard for shopping and food. It’s very sad. Like for part 2.
♬ original sound - Brooker Tee Jones
She said Walgreens was "barely holding on," speculating that the store remained open partly because "everything is locked up."
The TikToker said she wanted to show "what a city can turn into when it's run by Democrats," citing "soft on crime policies" and pointing to homelessness, drug use, and drug dealing on the streets as the main problems. She did note that not everything downtown had declined, saying Pike Place Market remained busy and that flower vendors were still thriving.
One commenter focused on tax revenue and government spending, writing, "When you blame business for the plight of the unproductive, the business leaves and the government has to suffer lower tax income. Then they borrow more money to cover the vandalism and property destruction, violent crime, and open drug use, then go bankrupt."
When you blame business for the plight of the unproductive, the business leaves and the government has to suffer lower tax income. Then they borrow more money to cover the vandalism and property destruction, violent crime, and open drug use (the current phase), then go bankrupt
— Blake Yerian (@TheBlakeYerian) August 6, 2026
Another offered a more cynical economic theory about property values. They wrote, "That's the way recycling money, while nabbing a few bucks for yourself works. It's giant money screwing big money. Destroy property, lower its value to less than the land, wait a bit. Buy it up with tax breaks cuz 'rebuilding the community.' In a nutshell."
Another commenter offered a theory about property speculation, writing, "Seattle's shift toward progressive politics didn't happen overnight. In my view, Washington's education system has played a role by promoting ideology over critical thinking. Many young voters now support leaders like Rep. Jayapal, Mayor K. Wilson, and Gov. Ferguson, whose policies have made the region less welcoming to businesses."
The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the specific store closure dates named in the video. The details above reflect the account shared by @brookerteejones on TikTok and reposted on X by @Milajoy. The political characterizations in the caption and the video reflect the views of those accounts and commenters and not the Daily Dot's. Independent retail and economic data on Seattle's downtown closures was not included in this article.
