De Blasio Heading To Iowa Despite Presidential 'Naysayers'

NEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio will reportedly travel to Iowa this weekend as he mulls a run for president, apparently undeterred by the many skeptics of his White House ambitions.

The mayor's swing through the first presidential caucus state will include a Saturday event with Democrats in Sioux City and a Sunday afternoon "meet and greet" with an Asian and Latino group in Des Moines, the Des Moines Register reported.

The New York Post and the New York Daily News also reported the plans on Thursday. The mayor's press secretary did not respond to Patch's email seeking details about the trip.

The excursion will come after de Blasio postponed a trip to New Hampshire — another key state for presidential candidates — last week following the death of NYPD Det. Brian Simonsen.

De Blasio has been somewhat coy about his intentions to run for president, repeatedly saying he has not ruled it out. But even the idea of his White House campaign has drawn ridicule and skepticism from New Yorkers who argue he hasn't tended well enough to big problems at home.

"I think he's completely delusional," state Assemblyman Ron Kim, a Queens Democrat, said during Wednesday night's public advocate debate, where six other candidates for de Blasio's former job also weren't encouraging of the mayor's ambitions.

"Our schools are failing, our subways are crumbling," Kim added. "... He should apologize to New York City first for the last six and a half years."

De Blasio has tried to make a name for himself nationally throughout his tenure as mayor. He argues that he can make a case for the progressive policies he has implemented in the city while also running the government effectively.

On his last trip to Iowa, after his 2017 re-election victory, the mayor even showed reporters that he could literally walk and chew gum at the same time.

"I don’t mind critics, I don’t mind naysayers, but I’d love to talk about the facts," de Blasio said Friday on WNYC. "Let’s look at what this government is producing every single day and showing in the process that progressives can govern effectively and create a fairer society."

But many New Yorkers — including the mayor's fellow elected officials — aren't convinced. News last week that de Blasio was moving toward a possible presidential bid immediately drew laughter and horror online.

During the mayor's weekly radio interview, a caller named Lou on Staten Island passed along a message from his brother, who he said is a big supporter of the mayor's: "You shouldn't run for president this time around."

"He think[s] you are too progressive," Lou said. "The ideas you are projecting should really, really take hold in the city."

Asked at a Thursday news conference whether anyone has encouraged him to run for president, the mayor said, "I’m not going to try and fall into the trap of the question." But it didn't take him long to find one supporter on a Chinatown street whom he happily showed off to reporters.

"Bill de Blasio [will] be our president in [the] future," the woman said.