'He Cares About Nothing': Veterans Sound Off After Mayor De Blasio Is Nowhere To Be Found In NYC On D-Day
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio was MIA -- missing in action -- at various D-Day events in the city on Thursday, angering veterans who think a man who wants to be president should care about them.
Of course, this wasn't the first ceremonial misstep hizzoner has made, earning him the title, "The Dissing Mayor," CBS2's Marcia Kramer reported.
They are the faces of bravery and sacrifice, New Yorkers who served this nation in Vietnam, Korea, and, of course, World War II. They are men who were apparently forgotten by de Blasio, who, despite his lust for the White House, did not attend a single event on D-Day. That annoyed many veterans at a Brooklyn event who were being honored by Congressman Hakeem Jeffries.
"He's not a good mayor. He's a terrible mayor. He cares about nothing. He makes out like he cares for the people, but I don't think he cares for the people. He's a self-centered mayor," said Norman Senay of Bellerose Queens, who served in World War II.
"He should know what we guys have done. They put our lives on the line. You know? He should recognize them. After all, they saved the world," added World War II vet Al Goldberg of Brooklyn.
"He is the mayor of one of the largest populated cities in the world and for him not to be here today seems to be a strike against what we stand for in the military," added Vietnam vet Herbert Sweat of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
MORE: NJ Gov. Phil Murphy Participates In D-Day 75th Anniversary Ceremony In Trenton
The mayor, whose father was a World War II vet, did tweet about D-Day, saying of the vets, "They rose to the test with valor and confronted an evil like no other."
But he did nothing public to mark the day. He found time to go to his Park Slope gym and take his dirty linen to the local dry cleaner. The only event on his public schedule was a dinner to honor Puerto Rican heritage. This from a man who has a history of ceremonial missteps and wild excuses.
"The mayor's team determined they could not make the event work with his schedule. The event was not brought to his attention," a spokesperson said.
"The problem was the event was put together way too late. It was not originally planned," the mayor said back in November.
He was late to a ceremony marking the anniversary of the Flight 587 crash.
"I was just not feeling well this morning. I had a very rough night and woke up sluggish and I should have gotten myself moving quicker. I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep and felt really sluggish and off kilter this morning," he said back on Nov. 14, 2014.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo also did nothing public to mark D-Day. He announced a special day of commemoration for World War II vets living in the state's five nursing homes and held two press conferences.
But, unlike de Blasio, he's not running for president.
Late Thursday, the mayor's staff pointed out that he's done a lot for vets, including establishing the first city-level agency devoted to veterans' affairs.
