De Blasio Campaign Already at Risk of Burning Down After NYPD Boat Stunt Backfires
The Democrat field of 2020 candidates just got even more crowded. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has officially entered the race, but his campaign may already be a sinking ship.
Sinking boat, that is. The liberal mayor is now facing scathing criticism after using a government-owned New York City Police Department boat Thursday for what appeared to be a publicity stunt at the Statue of Liberty.
.@BilldeBlasio and @NYCFirstLady arrive on liberty island in very dramatic fashion. They took an @NYPDnews boat
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“Although billed as an official event, with the dedication of the new museum on Liberty Island, the timing of de Blasio’s appearance just hours after announcing his candidacy sparked more questions than support,” pointed out BizPac Review on Friday.
Sure enough, social media lit up with posts scolding the mayor for using the boat and the Liberty Island appearance to prop up his long-shot campaign.
“Is this legal? Using city resources to campaign?” wondered Mickey White, a verified Twitter commentator with nearly 30,000 followers.
“Legal or not, it demonstrates his bloated sense of importance,” replied another user.
And that is the real problem. De Blasio appears to be completely tone-deaf when it comes to both his chances of winning the White House and how he appears to voters with his actions.
That’s exactly why the mayor was already facing questions for another questionable alleged stunt involving another state-owned vehicle, this one an SUV.
“[N]ot only did de Blasio film his intro ad in a SUV but in the back of what appears to be his city vehicle — which he’s not allowed to film political ads in,” noted New York Daily News columnist Harry Siegel.
Not to be a killjoy, says, @bobhardt, but not only did de Blasio film his intro ad in a SUV but in the back of what appears to be his city vehicle — which he's not allowed to film political ads in, youtube.com/watch?v=GHDhsP…
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“‘For the working people’ — from the back of his chauffeured SUV! [The mayor] is so clueless,” replied one Twitter user, summarizing the image problem.
Now, whether the mayor truly broke campaign rules with either the boat or the SUV isn’t entirely clear.
While it should definitely be looked into, using an NYPD boat isn’t exactly the scandal of the century, we must admit.
But it definitely is a problem when the very same NYPD can’t even stand de Blasio. His city’s own police union — made up of the same officers who likely piloted his boat for a photo op — has publicly disowned the mayor.
“It is laughable that a mayor who has shown no interest in running New York City for six years now says he wants to mismanage the entire country,” the Police Benevolent Association of NYC, made up of 50,000 active and retired officers, posted on Thursday.
“After six years of disrespect for the police officers who keep our city safe, it’s perfectly clear how the mayor treats men and women in uniform. As commander-in-chief, he would be an unmitigated disaster,” the BPA’s statement continued.
Not exactly a glowing endorsement.
#BREAKING Statement from PBA President Lynch on @NYCMayor @BilldeBlasio’s Presidential Run. “While the mayor of our nation’s largest city is busy running around Iowa and getting upstaged by the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, there are real problems here at home.
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While the mayor expected cheers, he’s so far received mainly jeers.
Take a look at the cover of the New York Post, which cleverly used images of people pointing and laughing to illustrate just how poorly de Blasio’s campaign announcement was received by New Yorkers.
If his own city is so strongly against him running for president, what chance does he think he has of the rest of America voting for him? The winner of the 2020 election may end up being a New Yorker … but it’s safe to say it won’t de Blasio.
