Bill De Blasio Says Bernie Sanders Would Have Beaten Trump in 2016

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) would have won the 2016 presidential election, said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday.

“In my heart, yeah,” de Blasio said during an interview at Politico’s headquarters. “You know, hindsight’s 20/20, but I think when we look at it now, that was a moment where there was such desire for change.”

However, Jennifer Palmieri, head of communications for former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, dismissed the mayor’s comments in an email.

“Omg. [I]f he thinks Bernie would have beaten Trump then he should have had the foresight to endorse him in 2016. His view is of little importance now,” she wrote.

Additionally, Breitbart News reported that de Blasio has recently received criticism from his own staffers, who allegedy called his bid for the presidency a “joke.”

“I think that he knows that he can’t win. It’s just a lot of eye-rolling . . . He’s doing it because he’s got a big ego and needs to prove something, and I don’t think he’s going to quietly go away and become an adjunct professor at Hunter,” one staffer reportedly said.

However, during the July 31 Democrat debate, de Blasio told the audience he brings Americans “a message of hope.”

“We can make change in this country, and I know from personal experience it can be done,” he said. “When I became mayor of the nation’s largest city, I set us on a path of bold change. They said it couldn’t be done, but we gave pre-K to every child for free.”

Recent poll numbers suggest that de Blasio is struggling to win the favor of his fellow New Yorkers, according to the New York Post.

“The statewide Siena College poll shows a paltry 26 percent of voters have a favorable view of de Blasio, compared to a staggering 57 percent who don’t. Another 17 percent are undecided,” the New York Post report said. “That’s a negative rating of 31 points in a deeply blue state.”

“De Blasio’s problem is that he’s even unpopular among Democrats. Only 38 percent of Democrats view him favorably and 49 percent unfavorably,” the report concluded.