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Bill de Blasio Is Feeling the Heat. Good, Let’s Turn It Up
Once a presidential hopeful, New York’s mayor has proved that his script around reform was as empty as his suit
Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.
Bill de Blasio is a clown. Let’s start there. We could actually end there, too, honestly, but I might as well explain.
In 2014, when de Blasio was first sworn in as mayor — by former President Bill Clinton at that — he reiterated his lofty vision for an egalitarian city, united across socioeconomic lines. “When I said we would take dead aim at the tale of two cities, I meant it,” he said. “And we will do it. I will honor the faith and trust you have placed in me. And we will give life to the hope of so many in our city. We will succeed as one city. We know this won’t be easy. It will require all that we can muster.”
By the time he was sworn in a second time some four years later, fewer people were present. News outlets covering the day at the time noted “empty seats were scattered throughout,” but it’s hard to believe it was simply attributable to the January chill: Previous attendees like Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Harry Belafonte, and Governor Andrew Cuomo did not bother…
