Nobody’s favorite mayor held a campaign event in Iowa over the weekend, and just 15 likely Democratic voters attended.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tried to woo Iowa caucus voters by holding an event at the Parlor City Pub in Cedar Rapids Sunday morning. The New York Post reported that “about 15 likely Democratic voters” attended, not including his staff, the press, or state Sen. Rob Hogg who organized the event.
“Everything should be about our families, our lives, what everyday people are going through, what working people are going through,” de Blasio told the small crowd, according to the Post.
“If we as Democrats are talking about that, we’re winning,” he added.
“Here’s the bottom line: We have a country that’s favored the 1 percent now for literally 40 years,” he continued. “The rich have gotten richer. Everybody else has been pretty much treading water.”
The few attendees indicated to the Post that de Blasio’s remarks were not that inspiring.
Carol Wickey, 78, told the outlet that while she “liked a lot of what he said,” his tone was too divisive.
“I thought in his prepared comments he focused too much on working people,” she said.
“He did not say anything that would sway me that he would be my choice as a candidate,” she added. “Nothing made him stand out among the other two dozen people.”
Geoff Johnson, 40, said de Blasio was “high” on his list of favored candidates, but he just didn’t see the New York City mayor as viable.
“There are 25 candidates,” he told the Post. “He’s fairly high on the list, but I’m not sure he quite makes the top five at this point, but some of that may just be because of the viability situation.”
As the Post noted, protesters in Iowa passed out fake dollar bills with de Blasio’s face on them in response to the mayor’s efforts to put a homeless shelter on “Billionaire’s Row” in Manhattan. Critics say they don’t oppose the homeless shelter, but feel the building de Blasio plans to use is dangerous. Fox News reported that one of the critics, Michael Fischer, said the chosen building “is plagued with serious fire and safety issues that could cause a loss of life.”
De Blasio also couldn’t escape criticism back home, with fellow New York politicians calling him out for missing the annual Dominican Day Parade.
City Councilman Ben Kallos, a Democrat, said the mayor should have been at the parade to “see the diversity that makes this city and country great.”
State Attorney General Letitia James, also a Democrat, told the Post that the “mayor should definitely be here” and that he “has a lot of potholes to fix in the city.”
De Blasio is currently tied for last place among other 2020 Democrat candidates, according to the RealClear Politic’s polling averages. He clocks in at just 0.3%, tied with Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, and self-help guru Marianne Williamson.