De Blasio Dismisses Bloomberg, Biden As He Mulls 2020 Run

NEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio dismissed Michael Bloomberg's and Joe Biden's prospects of winning the Democratic presidential nomination despite his own advisers reportedly believing he has slim chances himself.

Bloomberg announced last week that he would not run for president. Citing Bloomberg's immense wealth, De Blasio said the conclusion that his predecessor didn't have a chance at beating an already crowded field to become the Democratic Party's 2020 nominee was "110 percent" correct.

"We’re a progressive party more and more that is desperately troubled by the wealth and power concentrated in the hands of (the) 1 percent. And we know that has to change and it has to change quickly," de Blasio said between bites of French fries on Showtime's "The Circus."

"So how on earth are you gonna nominate one of the eight richest men in the world?"

De Blasio also suggested Biden, who is reportedly considering jumping into the race, would not be the best standard-bearer for a party that has lurched to the left in recent years.

While he called the former vice president a "very impressive public servant," the mayor said neither the party nor the country needs a moderate of Biden's ilk.

"If a moderate runs and wins, this very dangerous status quo will continue," de Blasio told political journalist John Heilemann. "We have an income inequality crisis that is dangerous and destabilizing."

The mayor's remarks aired Sunday amid his swing through South Carolina, a key presidential primary state. He has said he is not ruling out a White House bid.

But many in de Blasio's circle don't think it makes sense for him to run, with one former aide even calling the idea of his candidacy "f---ing insane," Politico New York reported Monday.

Besides the small group working on de Blasio's presidential ambitions, only two of the nearly three dozen "former and current aides, consultants and allies" whom Politico interviewed said the mayor should run.

But de Blasio reportedly said he only needs support from one person: first lady Chirlane McCray, who recently said that the "timing is not exactly right" for her husband to run for president.

"I assure you I had a lot of folks who were friends and allies warmly put their arm around my shoulder and tell me what a crazy idea it was to run for Public Advocate, what a crazy idea it was to run for mayor," de Blasio told Politico.

Despite the mayor's criticism, Biden led other Democrats in a Des Moines Register poll published March 9 with 27 percent of likely Democratic Iowa caucusgoers calling him their first choice for president. Zero percent said the same for de Blasio.

Watch a clip from de Blasio's appearance on "The Circus" below.