New York mayor de Blasio ends presidential bid

NEW YORK, Sept 20, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Friday that he was ending his floundering bid to be nominated as the Democratic candidate in next year’s US presidential election.

“It’s clearly not my time, I am going to end my presidential campaign,” he
said in an interview on the MSNBC television network.

De Blasio vowed to “continue my work as mayor of New York City, and I’m
going to keep speaking up for working people”.

The announcement comes after de Blasio failed to qualify for the most
recent televised debate among candidates as he struggled to get more than one percent in opinion polls.

His lengthy absence from the mayor’s office while on the campaign trail
had also drawn widespread criticism, including from President Donald Trump who reacted to the announcement by ridiculing his fellow New Yorker.

“Oh no, really big political news, 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,” Trump said on Twitter.

De Blasio is the second Democratic contender from New York to throw in the towel after Senator Kirsten Gillibrand ended her campaign late last month after also flatlining in the polls.

Former vice president Joe Biden is currently ahead in the polls followed
by the left-wing senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.