New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday said President Trump can win reelection if Democrats repeat a mistake he says they made in 2016: failing to articulate a clear liberal vision on the economy.
“Donald Trump can win if we repeat the 2016 mistake, which is to not have a clear progressive economic message,” Mr. de Blasio said on MSNBC’s “Hardball.”
The Democratic presidential hopeful said that’s how you lose in a state like Iowa.
“I think we’re going to be unified, but if we’re unified with the wrong message, we could easily lose,” he said. “The wrong message is quote-unquote moderation for the sake of moderation — the fear of having a blunt, clear argument for working people.”
He reiterated his past comment that Democrats became the “party of the elite.”
“That’s why we lost a lot of voters to Trump — folks thought we were on the side of the elite, the donors, etcetera,” he said.
Mr. de Blasio has been struggling to gain traction in public polling since entering the presidential race last month, but he said it’s early and he believes that a “progressive” candidate will ultimately win the nomination.
He said former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, the current front-runner for the Democratic nomination, isn’t well-positioned to deliver a “progressive, clear, blunt” economic message but that he would work “hard” for Mr. Biden if he is ultimately the party’s nominee.
“I say there’s plenty of money in this world; there’s plenty of money in this country. It’s just in the wrong hands — I say it bluntly,” Mr. de Blasio said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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