Nearly eight years into his run at City Hall, Karl Marx-admiring Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday dismissed his predecessor Michael Bloomberg planning to raise cash for Democratic mayoral nominee Eric Adams — claiming the billionaire businessman is among many “new friends” jumping on the likely next mayor’s bandwagon.
De Blasio gave a frosty response to a question about the news of an upcoming fundraiser held by Bloomberg, whose support the mayor insisted wouldn’t lead Adams away from his blue-collar instincts and policies.
“It’s kind of classic. I mean, … when there’s a winner, people connect to the winner. I have a lot of faith that Eric Adams — who’s a very experienced, worldly-wise person — is going to know that a lot of folks are going to come forward to help him, now that he’s the winner,” de Blasio said at his daily press briefing held remotely from City Hall.
“But If there’s ever someone I’ve met who knows where he came from, and what he believes in, it’s Eric,” de Blasio said.
“And so, he’ll have many new friends, but I think he’ll stay true to his values and to the changes that he believes we need in this city, and I’m certainly looking forward to being supportive of him as he does that,” the mayor added. “I’m excited about what he will be doing going forward.”
Politico reported Thursday that Bloomberg — whom the self-styled left-wing mayor has blasted throughout his political career — will host a fundraiser in Midtown on Sept. 15 for Adams’ general election campaign.
De Blasio in recent months has praised the fellow Brooklyn Democrat and maintained that Adams followed in his footsteps in his mayoral bid — winning the Democratic primary with a working-class, non-white base of voters who don’t live in Manhattan.
But Adams is friendlier to Big Apple big business than the current mayor, expressing the importance of ensuring that wealthy New Yorkers — who are responsible for a hefty share of the city’s tax base — don’t flee due to crime or economic policies.
Adams will face off against Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa in the general election in November, when the former NYPD captain is heavily favored to beat the Guardian Angels founder.
Earlier this month, de Blasio endorsed Adams’ campaign.
“I know he’s going to do amazing things in this building right behind us,” the mayor said Aug. 2 at City Hall Park.
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