New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ended his bid to be the Democratic challenger to US President Donald Trump in 2020 presidential elections.
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“I feel like I have contributed all I can to this primary election, and it’s clearly not my time,” he told MSNBC in an interview. “So I am going to end my presidential campaign, continue my work as mayor of New York City and I’m going to keep speaking up for working people.”
He said the reason for his decision to leave the race was due to party’s rules for qualifying for debates on television.
“The bar is so high so early that for a lot of us, clearly, some of my fellow chief executives, governors couldn’t make that cut,” de Blasio said. “It’s clear to me it’s a high bar, and that it’s one I’m not going to be able to meet.”
Trump commented on the mayor’s pullout with sarcasm and called the announcement “really big political news” on Twitter. “Perhaps the biggest story in years! Part time Mayor of New York City, @BilldeBlasio, who was polling at a solid ZERO but had tremendous room for growth, has shocking dropped out of the Presidential race. NYC is devastated, he’s coming home!” Trump tweeted.
De Blasio officially announced his candidacy in May to join the fellow Democrats to challenge Trump. He has been the mayor of America’s largest city since 2014.
