NYC Mayor de Blasio ends US presidential campaign
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Yesterday, Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York, New York, ended his campaign for president of the United States. De Blasio made the announcement live on television just after 7:30 a.m. EDT (1130 UTC). Various opinion polls showed national support for de Blasio at no more than one percent of voters.
Mayor de Blasio, a member of the Democratic Party, spoke on MSNBC's morning news talk show Morning Joe when he made the announcement: "I feel like I have contributed all I can to this primary election, and it’s clearly not my time, so I’m going to end my presidential campaign, continue my work as mayor of New York City and I’m going to keep speaking up for working people."
De Blasio joined the presidential race in May. His progressive campaign platform failed to resonate with voters. Polling averages measured by RealClearPolitics showed support at less than one percent and a recent poll by Siena College rounded his number to zero percent, even in his native New York City. He did not qualify to participate in further Democratic debates after the first two.
Incumbent President Donald Trump quickly took a parting shot on Twitter: "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[ly] dropped out of the Presidential race."
Fellow Democrats were more supportive in their comments: "Thank you [Bill de Blasio] for making working families the center of your campaign. This is our moment to fight for an America that works for all of us — not just the people at the top. Let's keep fighting", wrote Elizabeth Warren on Twitter. Bernie Sanders wrote, "Congratulations to [Bill de Blasio] on running a campaign to lift up working people and push for bold solutions we need, including making health care a right through Medicare for All."
Both Warren and Sanders remain — along with several others — in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Related news
- "United States: New York City mayoral swear-in to pair potential 2020 presidential prospects" — Wikinews, December 31, 2017
Sources
- Adam Edelman. "New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio drops 2020 bid" — NBC News, September 20, 2019
- Alex Pappas. "NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio drops out of presidential race" — Fox News, September 20, 2019
- Bernie Sanders. "@BerniBsanders" — Twitter, September 20, 2019
- Elizabeth Warren. "@ewarren" — Twitter, September 20, 2019
- Donald Trump. "@realDonaldTrump" — Twitter, September 20, 2019
- Morning Joe. "@Morning_Joe" — Twitter, September 20, 2019