New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ends 2020 presidential bid
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who vowed to take on "bully" President Trump, has officially dropped out of the packed 2020 presidential race. He announced the end of his campaign on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Friday morning.
"I'm gonna end my presidential campaign, continue my work as mayor of New York City and I'm gonna keep speaking up for working people and for a Democratic party that stands for working people," de Blasio said during his morning appearance.
In an opinion piece for NBC News, de Blasio conceded that after several months of campaigning, he had "reached the point where I feel I have contributed all I can to this Democratic primary."
Like President Trump, de Blasio was skilled an aggressive debater who frequently spars with the press. But while the media couldn't take its eyes off Mr. Trump as he filled Midwestern arenas in 2016, de Blasio has gotten the majority of his attention from cable news appearances while he's filled small union halls in New York City.
De Blasio had teased over the past month that he could leave the race soon, especially if he didn't qualify—or presumably get close to qualifying—for the October debate. His subsequent efforts to gain momentum, including a trip to Puerto Rico, were unsuccessful.
De Blasio said he isn't going to endorse a candidate—yet. But the policies he proposed are most in line with those of Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
While de Blasio failed to catch fire with national Democrats, he did attract Mr. Trump's attention. After de Blasio called the president "Con Don" the day he announced his candidacy, Mr. Trump recorded a Twitter video from Air Force One saying de Blasio was "the worst mayor in the history of New York City."
At a Buzzfeed event in July, de Blasio responded to an attack from Mr. Trump with a challenge for the president to come to New York and debate him on what's best for the city.
But when de Blasio dropped out on MSNBC's Morning, Mr. Trump wasn't a major topic. And in an op-ed he released this morning, he only named the president once.
But the reality TV star-turned president wasn't done with the attention-hungry mayor.
After de Blasio dropped out of the race, Mr. Trump blasted out a tweet that mocked the de Blasio polling and exclaimed, "NYC is devastated, he's coming home!"