Two weeks after endorsing Bernie Sanders for president, Mayor Invoice de Blasio has wasted no time and few gibes going to work as his surrogate.He
Two weeks after endorsing Bernie Sanders for president, Mayor Invoice de Blasio has wasted no time and few gibes going to work as his surrogate.
He urged Pete Buttigieg on Twitter to “not be so smug while you simply acquired your ass kicked” within the Nevada caucuses. He informed Joseph R. Biden Jr. to “wake up!” to households that need higher well being care.
However a lot of the mayor’s ire has been directed towards his predecessor in Metropolis Corridor, Michael R. Bloomberg.
He mentioned Mr. Bloomberg’s insurance policies as mayor were racist. He asserted that he has been “cleansing up Michael Bloomberg’s mess for six years.”
And any suggestion on the contrary from Mr. Bloomberg? “Self-centered delusion,” the mayor wrote on Twitter.
Together with his personal presidential marketing campaign an unqualified bust, Mr. de Blasio seems to have discovered his voice and renewed vigor as an assault canine for Mr. Sanders, the Democratic front-runner.
Probably the most visceral part of that surrogacy has been Mr. de Blasio’s criticism of Mr. Bloomberg, enabling him to return to the theme of his profitable 2013 mayoral marketing campaign through which he forged himself because the anti-Bloomberg.
On Wednesday evening, Mr. de Blasio appeared on Sean Hannity’s present on Fox Information for a second time — a discussion board the place few Democrats enterprise.
The interview started with Mr. Hannity enjoying a clip of Mr. Bloomberg speaking about his stop-and-frisk coverage of throwing younger males in opposition to partitions.
“Thanks for taking part in that to your tens of millions of viewers, as a result of now extra individuals are going to see who Mike Bloomberg actually is,” Mr. de Blasio mentioned.
The mayor’s assaults have angered Mr. Bloomberg’s allies, who’ve principally prevented criticizing Mr. de Blasio even throughout his fleeting run for president final yr. That casual coverage has clearly ended.
“Few public officers anyplace are as revolutionary and intelligent as Invoice de Blasio in relation to repeated efforts at cash laundering,” Stu Loeser, a spokesman for Mr. Bloomberg, posted on Twitter, referring to Mr. de Blasio’s questionable fund-raising practices.
Mr. Loeser mentioned it was his determination, not Mr. Bloomberg’s, to talk out in opposition to Mr. de Blasio.
“If he needs to current himself as an opinion maker to the American folks, we’re going to should remind folks about his full legacy in workplace,” Mr. Loeser mentioned in a telephone interview, pointing to a de Blasio donor who pleaded guilty to using campaign contributions as bribes.
Mr. de Blasio’s assaults are a determined try to realize relevance, Mr. Loeser mentioned.
“It’s no secret that Invoice de Blasio loves nationwide politics and loves it greater than being mayor,” he mentioned.
Mr. de Blasio’s advocacy for Mr. Sanders has spurred hypothesis that the mayor could also be strategically laying the groundwork for a spot in a future Sanders administration. The 2 are longtime allies; Mr. Sanders swore Mr. de Blasio in at his second mayoral inauguration.
Karen Hinton, a former press secretary for Mr. de Blasio, mentioned his affection for Mr. Sanders was actual, however recommended that he may also desire a cupboard publish like secretary of housing and concrete improvement.
“It’s the place his coronary heart has been all alongside,” she mentioned of the Sanders endorsement, “however that doesn’t imply he isn’t additionally curious about working within the administration.”
The final time Mr. de Blasio visited Mr. Hannity’s present was in August when the mayor was making an attempt to generate consideration for his failing presidential marketing campaign. They sparred for 41 minutes over varied subjects, from immigration and gun management to abortion and meatless Mondays the town’s colleges.
This time, Mr. Hannity, an ally of Mr. Trump’s, discovered widespread floor with Mr. de Blasio over their disdain for Mr. Bloomberg.
Mr. Bloomberg has no “bedside method” and “no widespread contact, no connection to folks,” Mr. de Blasio mentioned, earlier than playfully inviting Mr. Hannity to Mr. Sanders’s inauguration.
Jon Paul Lupo, an adviser to Mr. de Blasio, mentioned the mayor had persistently made the identical arguments in opposition to Mr. Bloomberg.
“Mayor de Blasio is bringing the receipts, and you must defend your file,” Mr. Lupo mentioned.
Mr. Bloomberg, who served as mayor for 12 years, is definitely extra common amongst New Yorkers. His approval score is 59 p.c amongst New York Metropolis residents, in keeping with a Siena College poll this month. Mr. de Blasio, who’s facing lame duck status with lower than two years left in workplace, had his approval rating fall below 35 percent final yr.
Joseph Borelli, a Republican councilman from Staten Island, mentioned he loved watching Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Bloomberg duke it out.
“It’s enjoyable as a Republican, but it surely’s additionally enjoyable as a scholar of New York Metropolis politics,” Mr. Borelli mentioned. He famous that most of the reporters masking the presidential race and the White Home had as soon as coated Mr. Bloomberg or Mr. de Blasio in New York, and “know the place all of the our bodies are buried.”
“You don’t get that with Mayor Pete,” he mentioned, chuckling, “or God is aware of who covers Burlington, Vermont.”