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Ben from Ben & Jerry’s blasts Mr. Softee as ‘fake ice cream’ after it stepped into the Philly DA’s race

The churn of the district attorney's race took a chilling turn, with a Ben & Jerry’s founder’s frosty response to the Philly police union and Mister Softee.

John McNesby, president of Lodge 5 of the Fraternal Order of Police, stands in front of the Mister Softee truck he parked in front of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner's office on April 30. The FOP gave away free ice cream while deriding Krasner as "soft on crime" and asking people to vote for his Democratic primary challenger, Carlos Vega.
John McNesby, president of Lodge 5 of the Fraternal Order of Police, stands in front of the Mister Softee truck he parked in front of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner's office on April 30. The FOP gave away free ice cream while deriding Krasner as "soft on crime" and asking people to vote for his Democratic primary challenger, Carlos Vega.Read moreCHRIS BRENNAN / Staff Writer
    by Chris Brennan
    Updated 
    Published 

The churn of Philadelphia’s Democratic primary for district attorney continued a chilling turn Tuesday, with a Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream founder’s frosty response to the police union and Mister Softee.

The Fraternal Order of Police dealt the first cold blow Friday to District Attorney Larry Krasner, parking a Mister Softee truck in front of his office to cast him as “soft on crime.” The union passed out free soft-serve cones and asked people to support Krasner’s Democratic challenger, longtime homicide prosecutor Carlos Vega.

Ben Cohen, a Krasner supporter, offered this biting reply Tuesday, accusing the FOP of opposing Krasner because he holds police officers accountable.

“The FOP is out of control, regularly lashing out at anyone who threatens their unquestioned power,” Cohen said in a statement circulated by Krasner’s campaign. “To be clear, Mr. Softee isn’t even ice cream. It is pumped up with a lot of hot air, which is somehow frozen in a limp sort of way. It is chock full of artificial ingredients. In short, it’s fake ice cream. Just like the lies that the FOP has been telling about a courageous fighter for true justice and one of the best D.A.’s in the U.S.”

» READ MORE: Carlos Vega is making Philly DA Larry Krasner fight for his job as the election nears

Local FOP President John McNesby on Tuesday claimed Cohen “is begging for relevancy in this market and Mister Softee and Carlos Vega are the go-to-choices for Philadelphians”

Know who wants no part of this fight? Mister Softee, the family-run company founded in West Philadelphia in 1956, now based in Runnemede, N.J.

“We didn’t know about it until after the fact,” Mister Softee Vice President Jim Conway Jr. told Clout of Friday’s FOP event. “Apparently McNesby contacted one of our franchisees. We’re really not interested in politics.”

As for Cohen, Conway said: “We would like to inform him that Mister Softee is in fact ‘real’ ice cream and has been a staple in the region since our founding in Philadelphia.”

McNesby told Clout he plans to park the truck in front of Krasner’s office every Friday until the May 18 primary.

Clout provides often irreverent news and analysis about people, power, and politics.