Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday that he is entering the crowded 2020 field for president.
“Doesn’t matter if you live in a city or a rural area, a big state, small state. Doesn’t matter what your ethnicity is. People in every part of this country felt stuck or even like they’re going backwards,” he said in the video announcing his bid.
He said he’ll be running on the platform of “working families first,” and mentioned paid sick leave as well as raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
De Blasio, 58, assumed office in 2014 and has become known for his progressive statements and policies. He has repeatedly said the “money in this country” is “in the wrong hands.”
FBI Director Kash Patel says bureau ramping up AI to counter domestic, global threats
ICE lodges detainer for illegal immigrant charged in brutal killing of New York taxi driver
DHS fires back at Senate Dems over ICE detainee death claims: ‘Trying to twist data’
Trump endorses Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman for New York governor after Stefanik exit
Gun jams as shoplifting suspect tries to shoot Ohio police officer at point-blank range in wild bodycam video
LA deputies caught on camera racing into foggy ocean to rescue disoriented paragliders
Vivek Ramaswamy turns to conservative youth to shape the movement’s next phase, analyzes 2026 races
Woman who filed a complaint against Epstein to Clinton FBI vindicated after DOJ release of files
Cruise ship chaos mounts as deaths, crimes on board shatter illusions of safety at sea, experts warn
Second tanker seized near Venezuela as US enforces oil blockade
Meet Minnesota’s fraud ‘mastermind’ accused of playing ‘God,’ wielding ‘fake’ racism claims in Somali scandal
Colorado state senator’s BAC was twice legal limit at time of fatal car crash: Coroner’s report
Elizabeth Smart blasts Ghislaine Maxwell’s ‘country club’ prison treatment: ‘Makes me sick’
The council of Trump: Catholicism’s uncomfortable prominence in US politics
Conservatives need to embrace ‘fusion’ of populism, top leader says, calling AmFest scenes are ‘encouraging’
The mayor has been quietly tapping into City Hall staffers with national political experience. That includes Mike Casca, who became spokesman and communications strategist of de Blasio’s federal political action committee in April, reported The New York Daily News. Casca worked on Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’s 2016 presidential campaign, reported Politico.
De Blasio also handpicked experienced City Hall employees Jon Paul Lupo and Jaclyn Rothenberg in February to help with his campaign with their travel paid by his Fairness PAC. Rothenberg’s Twitter touts her experience working for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Meanwhile, nearly 20 major candidates announced they’re running for president in 2020, with more waiting in the wings for the right time to launch a formal campaign.
Story cited here.
