‘The strongest advocate for a de Blasio candidacy seems to be de Blasio himself…’
(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) Another New York politician may soon bite the dust in the crowded 2020 presidential primary field.
Politico reported on Monday that many of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio‘s closest advisers say he would be “f***cking insane” to run.
Nearly three dozen aides, consultants and allies of de Blasio that Politico spoke with dismissed the notion of a White House run.
Among the other i-word descriptors they used were “insufferable” and “idiotic,” said the article.
It quoted the mayor’s former campaign and City Hall adviser, Rebecca Katz, who said on a local podcast, “I believe Bill de Blasio has 100 percent the right message; I’m just not so sure he’s the right messenger.”
Of course, that is only what his supporters think.
As de Blasio of late has worked to relay his message, crowing about his liberal record and agenda in places like Iowa and South Carolina, he may face tough questions about his headline-grabbing proposal to guarantee health care for all (including illegals), as well as the New York legislature’s recent bill to permit partial-birth abortion.
Surprisingly, in January, de Blasio hinted during a CNN interview that he might attempt to court Trump voters.
While underscoring the current president’s perceived negatives, de Blasio said, “[O]n the economic issues, he understood people were hurting. Their lives were getting harder, not easier.”
He said Democrats needed to reclaim their working-class appeal: “We could go a lot farther. … We could be a lot bolder than what we’re doing.”
But even de Blasio’s effort to court Amazon to the city with a sweetheart tax-incentives deal in return for some 25,000 jobs drew criticism and proved disastrous when the e-commerce giant withdrew.
The mayor, who has seen his pool of enthusiastic advisers winnowed down to two volunteer aides and his wife, Politico said, was inverting the narrative of a candidate being drafted into higher office by loyal believers in the cause.
“It’s a stark contrast to the typical dynamics of a presidential exploration in which aides and allies tend to egg on the potential candidate” said the article. “Indeed, the strongest advocate for a de Blasio candidacy seems to be de Blasio himself.”
Still, Politico said, de Blasio seemed undeterred and has written off the criticism and discouragement as familiar refrains—ones that he has heard over and over throughout his political career and never paid attention to.
“I assure you I had a lot of folks who were friends and allies warmly put their arm around my shoulder and tell me what a crazy idea it was to run for Public Advocate, what a crazy idea it was to run for mayor,” he said.