New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio criticized his predecessor Michael Bloomberg over his potential late entry into the Democratic presidential primary.
Bloomberg, 77, filed to run in the Democratic presidential primary in states with early filing deadlines, including Alabama, signaling his presidential intentions. The billionaire has yet to officially announce his presidential bid, but de Blasio made it clear he won’t be supporting his fellow New Yorker.
Following the Veterans Day Parade on Monday, de Blasio bashed Bloomberg’s potential bid by criticizing some of his policies as mayor.
“When he was mayor he had no understanding of the inequality crisis. I think he was absolutely tone-deaf to what working people are going through in this city,” de Blasio said.
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He claimed Bloomberg would be a better president than Trump, but the optimism stopped there.
“Would he be better than Donald Trump? Of course. Should he be the Democratic nominee? No,” said de Blasio. “This is a Democratic Party today that’s getting more progressive, that wants to address the concerns of working people, that does not accept the status quo.”
He added, “There’s no way in the world we should nominate a billionaire who epitomizes the status quo.”
De Blasio’s presidential dreams already came and went. He announced he was running for president in mid-May but revealed in September that he had suspended his campaign and would no longer be seeking the presidency.
