Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday morning, likely to the glee and relief of New Yorkers, that his teasing about running for governor would not become a reality. So, much like Staten Island Chuck — the groundhog he murdered by dropping the poor critter on its head — de Blasio's plans to seek higher office are dead for now.
The announcement came in a video tweeted by de Blasio who said "No, I am not going to be running for governor in New York State," but promising to "devote every fiber of my being to fight inequality in the state of New York."
I am not going to be running for Governor of New York State, but I am going to devote every fiber of my being to fighting inequality in the state of New York. pic.twitter.com/cBZ03BpO0s
— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) January 18, 2022
In a bizarre monologue on his legacy, de Blasio mentions his groundhog-icide when discussing the "fair share of mistakes" he made as mayor of America's most populous city. "I was not good with groundhogs at all," de Blasio said, apparently believing that to be one of his greatest shortcomings as a leader. Apparently referring to his use of a gym as the Wuhan coronavirus picked up steam, de Blasio added he "Probably shouldn't have gone to the gym." If these two things are what de Blasio considers to be his biggest mistakes worthy of acknowledging, it's easier to understand why he Quixotically thought he could be a contender for governor.
"We changed things in this town," he said of his radical policies that increased dependence on government and limited the freedom of New Yorkers. "We changed policing to make it fairer," he claimed, changes that only made New York less safe, more friendly to and tolerant of criminals, and a worse place to live or visit. Innocent people are being killed by criminals in the Times Square subway, but pat yourself on the back, Bill.
"We showed you can do big things," de Blasio added, ticking off the "green new deal, cutting carbon emissions, making the city greener and cleaner for the future" as his alleged accomplishments that ironically made New York less equal as wealthy citizens or business owners were able to comply with his radical environmentalism while New York's working class and small business owners saw their bottom lines take a hit.
De Blasio also claimed "We took on COVID," as one of his accomplishments, despite New York City being...not great at handling the Wuhan coronavirus.
Promising to "share some more news...in the days ahead," de Blasio sounds like a man who desperately wants to stay relevant though it's unclear what he might do other than tilt at inequality windmills and set up some sort of radically leftist foundation to continue pushing his flawed agenda.
It's not terribly surprising that de Blasio decided to delay any attempts at higher office given his single-digit support in polls when compared with current New York Governor Kathy Hochul who replaced Andrew Cuomo after his house of cards came crashing down. And who could forget de Blasio's underwhelming and short-lived run for president in the 2020 Democrat primary.
Bill de Blasio's presidential campaign lasted 127 days.
— Hunter Walker (@hunterw) January 18, 2022
His gubernatorial campaign lasted -1 days. https://t.co/t2waYx6eis
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