Bill de Blasio endorses Hillary Clinton
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio endorsed Hillary Clinton on Friday for president.
"The candidate who I believe can fundamentally address income inequality effectively, the candidate [that] has the right vision and the right experience and ability to get the job done is Hillary Clinton," de Blasio said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
De Blasio, who was Clinton's campaign manager for her 2000 Senate bid, had been debating for months whether to endorse her.
"I've seen her vision and platform develop over five months. I'm extremely pleased with what she's put on the table," said de Blasio, who also served in President Bill Clinton's administration. President Clinton swore de Blasio into office last year.
De Blasio also suggested it took him a while because Clinton didn't immediately roll out her entire campaign platform when she launched in April.
On Friday, the Clinton campaign circulated a release that said more than 135 U.S. mayors are backing her candidacy. Some of the others include Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Ed Lee of San Francisco.
Earlier in the week, a Clinton campaign aide confirmed to CBS News that her team was in talks with de Blasio's office about an endorsement.
When Clinton held her formal campaign kickoff event on Roosevelt Island in New York in June, de Blasio skipped the event.
"I'm waiting to hear, as I've said, her larger vision for addressing income inequality," he said at the time.
But early on, de Blasio also hinted that he could eventually endorse her. In an appearance on CBS' Face the Nation, he applauded some of her proposals.
"We have a democracy problem in this country," he said. "We have declining voter turnout. Secretary Clinton put forward a notion we need a national strategy to energize voting again, to get people involved."
