Mayor De Blasio Screamed At And Heckled During 'Green New Deal' Press Conference At Trump Tower
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Bill de Blasio was mocked and heckled by supporters of President Donald Trump on Monday after the publicity-seeking mayor held a press conference in the lobby of Trump Tower and got a whole lot more than he bargained for.
It was the worst optics ever for a man expected to announce this week whether he'll run for president. Screaming, heckling Trump supporters surrounded Mayor de Blasio with protest signs, including "Worst Mayor Ever" and "Trump 2020," and one even had de Blasio's face on the body of a donkey, CBS2's Marcia Kramer reported.
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All because de Blasio was hoping to score political points by holding a green new deal rally in what he thought was the belly of the beast, Trump Tower. Instead, the president won the day from 227 miles away and he didn't even have to tweet.
"Clearly, the Trump organization is a little sensitive to the fact that we're calling them out for what they are doing to the climate," de Blasio said.
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The mayor threatened the president with $2 million in fines if his real estate company doesn't comply with the city's new building emissions standards. He gamely tried to attack while Trump supporters rode up and down the escalators behind him and made such a racket the mayor grew hoarse trying to make his points.
"I'm going to say a few words, excuse me, in Spanish," de Blasio said.
And he had to strain to hear reporters' questions over the din, which included music played over the loud speaker and some rude questions.
It wasn't lost on political observers that the escalators the mayor stood in front of were the same ones then-citizen Trump used to swoop into a press conference announcing his decision to run for president. In the end, de Blasio was left with only one tool in the tool box -- name calling.
"We understand Donald Trump's approach. He always tries to be a bully and what we know is New Yorkers, you just take on a bully. Never back down in the face of a bully," de Blasio said.
The mayor insisted that he didn't mind the protesters and that it was "nice" for them to serenade him. At one point he said it was music to his ears.
The big question is whether it makes voters in the early primary states think he's tone deaf.