De Blasio: Possibility Of Trump Victory Should Be Taken Seriously
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday that he understands why Donald Trump has received such ardent support as a presidential candidate despite his having the "wrong ideas," and said Trump has a "legitimate shot" at the presidency.
Trump, the billionaire businessman and Queens native, has swept to the front-runner position in the Republican race despite making statements about minorities, immigrants and his rivals that would have sunk a more traditional candidate.
Trump heads into Tuesday's Republican caucuses in Nevada with 67 delegates after a resounding victory in South Carolina on Saturday. His closest opponents, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Marco Rubio (R-Florida), have a total of 11 and 10, respectively. It takes 1,237 delegates to capture the nomination.
Speaking at an unrelated event Monday, de Blasio said he understands Trump's appeal given how many people in the country are faring poorly.
"People are very frustrated in this country for very good reason, and you know, obviously, everyone knows I've been talking about inequality for years now. That reality, you've seen it more and more in the public polling. You've certainly seen it in the election results. People feel cheated. They feel cheated. They feel lied to. They feel the government isn't on their side," de Blasio said. "And when someone speaks bluntly about that – even with all the wrong ideas; all the wrong policies – it's still going to be appealing to a lot of people."
He said he thinks Trump will eventually be taken to task for his most inflammatory statements. Over time, de Blasio said, voters will look at Trump in a more critical view, WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported.
"I think that Mr. Trump will later on find that his innumerable statements against women, Latinos, Muslims, and many other categories of human being will catch up with him. I think over time, people will take a much more critical view," de Blasio said. "But at this moment, I understand why he was able to fuel such support."
De Blasio said further that Trump must be taken seriously as a likely Republican presidential nominee, and maybe even as the winner of the general election.
"I think there is a very good chance he could be the Republican nominee. I think no one should underestimate him at this point," de Blasio said. "You have to assume he could be the Republican nominee. We should assume he has a legitimate shot at the presidency and take that deadly seriously."
But de Blasio said while it is possible that Trump could win, he expects that Hillary Clinton will win on the Democratic side and go on to defeat him.
"I think she is talking much more about what to do about income inequality. I think she has the clearest platform and vision for change. I think people are going to respect her experience and her ability, and her sanity, and her ability to be inclusive," de Blasio said. "This is a country that is becoming ever more diverse, and Hillary speaks with a powerful voice of inclusion, and Trump speaks with a negative and exclusionary voice."
Still, the mayor said, the possibility of a Trump victory must be acknowledged.
"Could he win? Yes, we should take very seriously the fact that he could," de Blasio said. "And I would say to anyone we should prepare to defeat him."
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