Bill de Blasio Slams NY Times Coverage Of Mamdani

Quick Overview

Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio strongly criticized the New York Times' coverage of Zaran Mamdani, calling their editorial attacking Mamdani "one of the low points in the entire history of the New York Times" for dismissing his progressive plans as impractical and comparing him negatively to de Blasio. De Blasio celebrated Andrew Cuomo's primary loss, condemned Democrats who endorsed Cuomo despite past scandals, and defended Mamdani against accusations of extremism and anti-Semitism, asserting Mamdani's policy goals are "absolutely appropriate and attainable."

Key Points: Bill de Blasio expressed immense happiness at Andrew Cuomo's loss in the Democratic mayoral primary, stating he "could not hold back" his large smile due to his strong feelings about Cuomo and the "nasty, negative, unfair campaign" Cuomo waged. De Blasio criticized fellow Democrats, including Senator Gillibrand, for their "tremendous hypocrisy" in endorsing Andrew Cuomo despite previously calling for his resignation over allegations of sexual harassment and nursing home deaths. De Blasio defended Zaran Mamdani against accusations of being an extremist or anti-Semite, stating, "This is not an extremist. This is a smart, responsible person who happens to have views that are different." De Blasio affirmed that Mamdani's progressive policy goals, such as free buses, freezing rent, and free childcare, are "absolutely appropriate and attainable," drawing parallels to his own successful universal pre-K initiative. De Blasio called The New York Times' editorial attacking Mamdani "one of the low points in the entire history of the New York Times," accusing them of dismissing Mamdani's plans as "idealistic dreamer with unattainable plans" and showing a "neoconservative bent." De Blasio stated that while Governor Hochul opposes taxing the wealthy, Mamdani's ability to work with Albany to raise taxes is "perfectly viable" due to a Democratic state senate and Mamdani's relationships within the legislature. De Blasio confirmed he is "done with electoral politics" but still wants to serve the public, suggesting a future in public service would likely be an "appointed future" within a Democratic administration in Washington.