NEW YORK — (CNN) New York Mayor Bill de Blasio endorsed Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid on Friday morning.
“The candidate who I believe can fundamentally address income inequality effectively, the candidate who has the right experience and the ability to get the job done is Hillary Clinton,” de Blasio said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
This comes after de Blasio, a former Hillary Clinton campaign manager for her first Senate campaign, declined to endorse his former boss in April and skipped Clinton’s official campaign launch on Roosevelt Island, New York, in June. De Blasio said he was choosing to hold off until Clinton addressed her “larger vision” on the issue of income inequality.
“I have seen her vision and her platform develop over five months,” de Blasio said Friday. “I’m extremely pleased with what she’s put on the table but she has a history of fighting on issues that convinces me.”
When asked what has led him to change his mind, de Blasio said “what’s missing here in this discussion is who Hillary has always been,” citing Clinton’s work for the Children’s Defense Fund and the time “she stood her ground” against health insurance companies in the 90s.
De Blasio is seen as a strong advocate for the left wing of the Democratic party, a faction of liberals that has recently showed energized support for Clinton primary challenger, Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders.
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