On Friday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced he would drop out of the 2020 Democratic presidential race. The extremely unpopular mayor has been polling at zero in national polls, and it seems he finally got the message. Sadly, he seems to be laboring under the delusion that he actually contributed something to the race.
“Getting out there, being able to hear people’s concerns, address them with new ideas — it’s been an extraordinary experience. But I have to tell you at the same time, I feel like I’ve contributed all I can to this primary election,” de Blasio told MSNBC’s Morning Joe Friday morning. “And It’s clearly not my time. So I’m going to end my presidential campaign.”
Breaking: Bill de Blasio announces he is ending his presidential campaign pic.twitter.com/vL8GcX3xV5
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) September 20, 2019
After two rather forgettable performances in the first and second Democratic debates, the New York mayor failed to qualify for the third debate, and he seemed unlikely to qualify for the fourth. He announced his campaign in May, and four months later he’s finally realized he shouldn’t have run for president in the first place.
As he withdrew from the race, de Blasio attempted to cast himself as the union candidate, the champion of organized labor. He wrote an op-ed for CNBC praising the increasingly crazed activists pushing the Democratic Party off the deep end. He published this op-ed days before climate alarmists plan to “shut down D.C.”
The one moment de Blasio did stand out may also have been the low point for the crazy attack on private health insurance. During the first debate, he turned to chastise former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), loudly exclaiming, “Why are you defending private insurance?” As Democrats took a second look at the polls, they’ve slowly come to realize that the Medicare for All launched by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) just doesn’t play with voters, many of whom like the choices that private health insurance provides.
It seems fitting that de Blasio’s standout moment would only make him more unpopular.
There are many reasons for running for president — not just an ambition to sit in the Oval Office. Many candidates and former candidates often land cabinet positions, television gigs, or book deals. Sometimes they run just to increase their national profile. But when it comes to de Blasio, I just don’t see how he benefited. He was already unpopular, and running for president made New Yorkers even more angry at him. He already had a national profile and can sell books or go on liberal TV whenever he wants.
No, it seems he may actually have thought he had a chance to become president, which is just plain bonkers.
President Donald Trump mocked the New York mayor shortly after de Blasio announced he was throwing in the towel.
“Oh no, really big political news, perhaps the biggest story in years! Part time Mayor of New York City, [Bill de Blasio], who was polling at a solid ZERO but had tremendous room for growth, has shocking dropped out of the Presidential race,” Trump tweeted. Then he got in a final dig: “NYC is devastated, he’s coming home!”
Oh no, really big political news, perhaps the biggest story in years! Part time Mayor of New York City, @BilldeBlasio, who was polling at a solid ZERO but had tremendous room for growth, has shocking dropped out of the Presidential race. NYC is devastated, he’s coming home!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 20, 2019
Sometimes Trump goes too far in mocking Democrats, but this was spot on.
Follow Tyler O’Neil, the author of this article, on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
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