De Blasio Has a Moment of Clarity About His 2020 Prospects

Leah Barkoukis | September 05, 2019 2:20 PM

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio has finally faced reality (sort of), acknowledging that he may need to drop out of the presidential race soon.

“I think the logical thing to say is, I’m going to try to get into the October debates. If I can, I think that’s a good reason to keep going forward, and if I can’t, I think it’s really tough to conceive of continuing,” he said during a Manhattan press conference, noting the deadline is Oct. 1. “That’s the way I’m looking at it right now.”

He did not make the cut for the Sept. 12 debate in Houston, Texas, given that he failed to get at least 2 percent in four polls or 130,000 unique donors. The October debate will have the same requirements to qualify. Given that he couldn’t succeed for September, it’s very likely he will not be able to make October’s cut.

He didn’t see it that way, however.

“Of course it was disappointing not to get into September,” de Blasio said. “But I fully gathered that October was the same standards, but with a month more to achieve them.”

He’s basically hoping for a viral moment to propel his campaign.

“People go from unheard of to totally famous in 72 hours in America now,” he said. “So a candidate like me, who's not that well known yet — you know, ask me in 72 hours, right? Something might change.”

De Blasio is currently polling at less than 1 percent, according to RealClearPolitics.