Bill de Blasio Endorses Clinton, Takes Shots at Trump in DNC Speech

NEW YORK, NY — Mayor Bill de Blasio didn't get a primetime speaking spot at Wednesday's Democratic National Convention, but he delivered a passionate rebuke to Republican nominee Donald Trump nonetheless.

De Blasio took the stage at about 5:30 p.m. and spent much of his speech ripping Trump. He called him out for his poor business practices, saying he was "born rich and then made a career of ripping people off."

"Who did Donald take on? The small business owners he contracted with on his real estate projects," de Blasio said. "Too many times, Donald simply stiffed them. Now we know Trump is the great pretender, but how can he pretend to be for American workers when he didn't even pay his own workers what he owed them?

"When Hillary Clinton was in the Senate, she helped secure $20 million for our recovery after 9/11, protecting our hero first responders who sacrificed so much. Who did Donald protect? Certainly not the students at Trump University, a place his own employees called a scam, where vulnerable Americans were pushed to spend more and more money on worthless classes. The only person Donald took care of was himself."

Some of his strongest words for the Republican nominee came when de Blasio spoke about Trump's misogyny.

"Hillary [Clinton] fought for the dignity of women and girls, passionately fighting the scourge of trafficking and the horror of child marriage in Saudi Arabia," de Blasio said. "What did Donald do? He's called women 'dogs' and 'fat pigs' and blamed military sexual assaults on the presence of women in our armed forces. He's degraded women to make himself feel big, while showing us the truly little man that he is."

De Blasio, who took the stage to "Smooth" by Santana and Rob Thomas, tried to paint Clinton as a progressive thinker in his speech, saying she will "be armed with the most progressive agenda in modern times."

Much was made of de Blasio withholding his endorsement from Clinton for months until Oct. 30, 2015 despite managing her Senate campaign in 2000. He told reporters at the DNC on Thursday that he never considered endorsing Bernie Sanders, though he still got a jab in, admitting his children both preferred the senator from Vermont.

Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg was given a plum primetime speaking slot despite not even being a Democrat. Bloomberg also attacked Trump strongly, saying "God help us" if Trump becomes president.

Photo Credit: DNC Live Feed