Should New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio run for president? The recent New York Times headline said it best: ‘De Blasio for President? ‘Nah’
Indeed, the prospect of a de Blasio campaign for the White House often produces giggles. As New York magazine recently wrote, “De Blasio hasn’t officially declared his candidacy for president, though it sure looks like he’s going to, traveling to early primary states, holding $5,000-a-plate fundraisers, and opening his own PAC to fund national candidates and pay for his own stateside travel. He’s also pretty close to qualifying for the primary debates this summer, needing a one percent showing in just one more reputable poll to make the cut. Though the mayor appears ready to take on the toughest job in America, his allies in New York — not to mention his constituency — aren’t quite as thrilled.”
The Atlantic chimed in, as well, noting that the mayor’s communications director, Mike Casca, “who two months ago joined the payroll of his PAC, quit on Friday afternoon, shortly after attempting to bat down the latest round of stories that the mayor was soon joining the crowded Democratic-primary field. His government press secretary walked last month, in part to avoid being pulled into forthcoming 2020 efforts. His 2013 campaign manager, Bill Hyers, didn’t respond when I asked him what he made of the mayor’s White House ambitions, though he’s been talking with Pete Buttigieg about getting involved with his campaign.
John Del Cecato, the consultant who made de Blasio’s ads in the past, including the breakthrough, blockbuster spot featuring de Blasio’s biracial son, Dante, which turned around his 2013 mayoral race, won’t be involved either, though he declined to comment other than to confirm that he wasn’t going to participate. Lis Smith, a member of de Blasio’s 2013 team who was later denied an administration post after her own tabloid run-ins, is Buttigieg’s communications adviser.”
The liberal New Republic magazine asked in a recent headline, “Why Is Bill de Blasio’s Presidential Dream a Sad Joke?” Part of its answer was that “as de Blasio weighs entering the 2020 race, the prospect of a President de Blasio has been met with widespread derision. The New Republic’s Alex Shephard termed his interest in the presidency an “embarrassing quest for national fame,” while the mayor’s own allies (anonymously) told Politico that his flirtation with a presidential run was “f-ing insane.” De Blasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray, has said the “timing is not exactly right” for him to launch a campaign.
The New York Times, which seems to take gleeful pleasure in dinging de Blasio for everything from calling errant snow days to ostentatiously hanging around Iowa, recently noted that Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has generated far more presidential buzz than the mayor of the country’s biggest city. Even in his hometown, there seems to be only one person who thinks a de Blasio presidential campaign would be anything other than a joke: de Blasio himself.”
