On Sunday morning — just before Hillary Clinton officially announced that, yes, she’s running for president — Mayor de Blasio took to Meet the Press, where Chuck Todd asked him if he was ready to endorse the former secretary of State’s candidacy. For those already keeping score at home: De Blasio, who served as Clinton’s campaign manager when she ran for Senate in 2000, said that he needs to get the details of his former boss’s plan first.
“Not until I see — and again, I would say this about any candidate — until I see an actual vision of where they want to go,” de Blasio explained. “I think she’s a tremendous public servant. I think she is one of the most qualified people to ever run for this office. And by the way, thoroughly vetted, we can say that. But we need to see the substance.”
“[A plan] has to include progressive taxation. It has to include increases in wages and benefits. It has to include the willingness to tax the wealthy so we can invest infrastructure, so we can invest in education again,” he continued. “That’s what I think progressives and everyday Americans will be looking for from Hillary and all other candidates.” Was de Blasio’s response payback for the Clintons’ late, subdued endorsement of his mayoral campaign, or just reasonable reluctance to back a campaign that technically did not exist until a few hours ago? Stay tuned for additional speculation.
