In a move that shocked no one in particular, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped his bid to become the next president Friday, because of a total lack of interest in his campaign.
“I feel like I contributed all I can to this primary election,” de Blasio said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “And it’s clearly not my time, so I’m going to end my presidential campaign.”
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The NYC mayor never broke through in any real way in the crowded Democratic field. At best, he polled nationally at around 1% support. And in a cruel twist of the knife, a Siena College Research Institute survey released this week found that de Blasio registered 0% support in New York City. Where, again, he is the mayor. The choice of “other” received more support at 1%.
In an NBC op-ed published Friday, de Blasio promised to fight for working families in New York and elsewhere even as his presidential campaign ends.
“This campaign has been a profound experience for me. I saw America in full — not as it appears on Twitter and cable news, where we’re constantly shown a country hamstrung by our differences and unable to tackle the problems we face,” he wrote. “We have more in common than we realize — and more and more of us across the country are overcoming our divisions and standing up for working people.”
De Blasio kicked off his campaign in May with a video that touted a simple message: President Donald Trump must be stopped and I’m the one to do it.
READ: Bill de Blasio defies New Yorkers and runs for president
Almost immediately after the NYC mayor dropped out of the race, Trump jumped in to mock him.
“Oh no, really big political news, perhaps the biggest story in years!” Trump tweeted. “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!”
De Blasio joins the growing list of Dems who dropped out of the 2020 race, which already included New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, Washington Sen. Jay Inslee, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and California Rep. Eric Swallwell. There are still 19 candidates left in the race.
Cover: Democratic presidential candidate New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at the Des Moines Register Soapbox during a visit to the Iowa State Fair, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
