Bill de Blasio is throwing his support behind the growing socialist wing of the Democratic Party, arguing that its leading figures are succeeding because they are offering an agenda that many Americans increasingly want.
“There are specific leaders who have emerged out of DSA who are providing a vision that actually a lot of people in this country are hungry for,” de Blasio said Tuesday on “The Ingraham Angle.”
The New York City mayor pointed to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as examples of politicians who, in his view, have capitalized on public dissatisfaction with the political establishment by emphasizing issues such as the cost of living.
“It is about the leaders that are emerging, like Bernie Sanders, AOC, Mamdani, some of the folks who won primaries lately,” he said.
“They are pointing in a specific direction, and there’s a reason they’re winning.”
Although de Blasio has said that he does not consider himself a socialist and does not belong to the Democratic Socialists of America, he voiced agreement with significant portions of the movement’s economic and social platform during his interview with host Laura Ingraham.
Among the policies de Blasio endorsed were ending the war with Iran, establishing Medicare for All and increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans. He argued that such proposals resonate because voters are deeply concerned about the affordability of everyday life.
“These progressive candidates are winning because they’re talking about how to raise wages, how to lower health care costs, how to get out of the war in Iran that is shooting up gasoline prices,” he said, while also making clear that he does not agree with the socialist movement on every issue.
De Blasio went beyond economic policy in outlining areas where he favors major changes, calling for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be eliminated and replaced by a newly created federal agency.
“We need a secure border, but we should abolish ICE because it’s a broken agency and start over with a different kind of agency that can secure our border without creating so much violence in our cities,” he said.
De Blasio also said illegal immigrants who have not been convicted of violent or other serious crimes should be offered a “path to legalization.”
{Matzav.com}
