New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday that he will seek the Democratic nomination for president, adding his name to an already long list of candidates itching for a chance to take on Donald Trump.

The mayor announced his run with a video released by his campaign.

“There’s plenty of money in this world. There’s plenty of money in this country. It’s just in the wrong hands,” de Blasio says at the beginning of the video.

He concludes: “I’m running for president because it’s time we put working people first,” de Blasio says at the video’s conclusion.

In announcing his candidacy, de Blasio is seeking to claim a role on the national stage that has eluded him as mayor of the biggest U.S. city.

When he took office in 2014, de Blasio seemed briefly poised to become a leading voice for an emerging left wing of the Democratic Party.

But liberal enthusiasm faded over his first term, partly because of political missteps at home and the emergence of bigger names elsewhere. He could face obstacles trying to distinguish himself in a crowded field.

De Blasio, 58, has drawn small audiences so far in visits to early primary states including Iowa, South Carolina, Nevada and New Hampshire, where an audience of six showed up for a mental health discussion.

A recent Quinnipiac University poll found 76% of New York City voters say they believe he shouldn’t run.

De Blasio’s hometown press has, so far, delighted in disparaging his presidential hopes.

“De Blasio for President? ‘Nah,“’ read one recent New York Times headline summing up the city’s reaction to his possible candidacy.

“Who hasn’t told Bill de Blasio that he shouldn’t run for president?” asked New York Magazine.

De Blasio, though, has remained undaunted by the obstacles and said he believes he has a message that can resonate with the American public.

Political observers said that even if de Blasio’s candidacy doesn’t catch fire, he’ll be able to promote his policies and potentially angle for a job in a future Democratic administration. He is barred by term limits from running for mayor again.

“If he ran a strong and credible campaign, it could enhance his stature for gaining a major appointment or becoming a significant player, particularly if a Democrat is elected president,” said Michael Malbin, a professor of political science at the University at Albany.

But Matthew Dallek, an associate professor of political management at George Washington University, said a losing White House campaign wouldn’t come without risks.

“If his legacy is that a crisis happened and he was off campaigning in Iowa, that’s significant,” Dallek said. “So yeah, there are risks.”

On the campaign trail, de Blasio will be able to cite accomplishments like expanding full-day prekindergarten and curtailing police tactics that critics said were discriminatory, while presiding over continued drops in violent crime.

De Blasio was born Warren Wilhelm Jr. in 1961 but took his mother’s family name in adulthood because, he said, his father was “largely absent from his life.” The mayor has spoken about how his father, Warren Wilhelm, a veteran who lost part of his left leg in World War II, descended into alcoholism and killed himself when de Blasio was 18.

Born in New York City, de Blasio grew up in the Boston area and has provoked New York sports fans by rooting ardently for the Boston Red Sox. He graduated from New York University and earned a master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

De Blasio met his wife, Chirlane McCray, when they both worked for Democratic Mayor David Dinkins. They married in 1994 and have two children, Chiara and Dante.

De Blasio was elected to a local school board in his Brooklyn neighbourhood in 1999 and won a City Council seat in 2001. In 2009, he was elected to the citywide position of public advocate, a job that holds little real power but comes with a bully pulpit that allowed de Blasio to build a reputation as a champion of regular citizens in a city built for the powerful.

He was not initially favoured to win the 2013 race for the Democratic nomination for mayor but was helped by the implosion of rival Anthony Weiner’s campaign after the disgraced former congressman was accused in a new sexting scandal.

De Blasio defeated Republican Joe Lhota by a wide margin in the 2013 general election for mayor. He won reelection in 2017, defeating Republican state Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis by 39 percentage points.

With his candidacy, de Blasio becomes the latest in a line of New York City mayors who have run for president. None has ever won.

John Lindsay sought the office in 1972. Rudy Giuliani ran in 2008. Michael Bloomberg flirted with a run for years before ruling it out in both the 2016 and 2020 campaigns. </s> New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday that he will seek the Democratic nomination for president, adding his name to an already long list of candidates itching for a chance to take on Donald Trump.

The mayor announced his run with a video released by his campaign.

"There's plenty of money in this world. There's plenty of money in this country. It's just in the wrong hands," de Blasio says at the beginning of the video.

He concludes: "I'm running for president because it's time we put working people first."

In announcing his candidacy, de Blasio seeks to claim a role on the national stage that has eluded him as mayor of the biggest U.S. city.

When he took office in 2014, de Blasio seemed briefly poised to become a leading voice for an emerging left wing of the Democratic Party.

But liberal enthusiasm faded over his first term, partly because of political missteps at home and the emergence of bigger names elsewhere. He could face obstacles trying to distinguish himself in a crowded field.

During a Thursday morning appearance on "Good Morning America," de Blasio borrowed one of Trump's favorite tactics by giving the president a disparaging nickname: Con Don.

"He's a con artist. I know his tricks I know his playbook," the mayor said.

Earlier this week, de Blasio held a news conference in the lobby of Trump Tower to blame the skyscraper for contributing to air pollution.

But the event also drew a group of Trump supporters who heckled as de Blasio hollered to make himself heard.

On Thursday Trump tweeted that de Blasio was "considered the worst mayor in the U.S."

The president continued, "He is a JOKE, but if you like high taxes & crime, he's your man. NYC HATES HIM!"

De Blasio, 58, has drawn small audiences so far in visits to early primary states including Iowa, South Carolina, Nevada and New Hampshire, where an audience of six showed up for a mental health discussion.

A recent Quinnipiac University poll found 76% of New York City voters say they believe he shouldn't run.

De Blasio's hometown press has, so far, delighted in disparaging his presidential hopes.

"De Blasio for President? 'Nah,'" read one recent New York Times headline summing up the city's reaction to his possible candidacy.

"Who hasn't told Bill de Blasio that he shouldn't run for president?" asked New York Magazine.

The New York Post on Thursday published a front-page picture simply showing a group of people laughing hysterically at the thought of a de Blasio presidential run.

De Blasio, though, has remained undaunted by the obstacles and said he believes he has a message that can resonate with the American public.

On Thursday, when asked about the Quinnipiac poll, de Blasio laughed and pointed that those same voters had elected him to office twice.

"You know, I got elected mayor with 73 percent of the vote originally, re-elected with 67 percent of the vote," he said. "I think you'd agree that the poll that actually matters is the election."

Political observers said that even if de Blasio's candidacy doesn't catch fire, he'll be able to promote his policies and potentially angle for a job in a future Democratic administration. He is barred by term limits from running for mayor again.

"If he ran a strong and credible campaign, it could enhance his stature for gaining a major appointment or becoming a significant player, particularly if a Democrat is elected president," said Michael Malbin, a professor of political science at the University at Albany.

But Matthew Dallek, an associate professor of political management at George Washington University, said a losing White House campaign wouldn't come without risks.

"If his legacy is that a crisis happened and he was off campaigning in Iowa, that's significant," Dallek said. "So yeah, there are risks."

On the campaign trail, de Blasio will be able to cite accomplishments like expanding full-day prekindergarten and curtailing police tactics that critics said were discriminatory, while presiding over continued drops in violent crime.

De Blasio was born Warren Wilhelm Jr. in 1961 but took his mother's family name in adulthood because, he said, his father was "largely absent from his life." The mayor has spoken about how his father, Warren Wilhelm, a veteran who lost part of his left leg in World War II, descended into alcoholism and killed himself when de Blasio was 18.

Born in New York City, de Blasio grew up in the Boston area and has provoked New York sports fans by rooting ardently for the Boston Red Sox. He graduated from New York University and earned a master's degree from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

De Blasio met his wife, Chirlane McCray, when they both worked for Democratic Mayor David Dinkins. They married in 1994 and have two children, Chiara and Dante.

De Blasio was elected to a local school board in his Brooklyn neighborhood in 1999 and won a City Council seat in 2001. In 2009, he was elected to the citywide position of public advocate, a job that holds little real power but comes with a bully pulpit that allowed de Blasio to build a reputation as a champion of regular citizens in a city built for the powerful.

He was not initially favored to win the 2013 race for the Democratic nomination for mayor but was helped by the implosion of rival Anthony Weiner's campaign after the disgraced former congressman was accused in a new sexting scandal.

De Blasio defeated Republican Joe Lhota by a wide margin in the 2013 general election for mayor. He won reelection in 2017, defeating Republican state Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis by 39 percentage points.

With his candidacy, de Blasio becomes the latest in a line of New York City mayors who have run for president. None has ever won.

John Lindsay sought the office in 1972. Rudy Giuliani ran in 2008. Michael Bloomberg flirted with a run for years before ruling it out in both the 2016 and 2020 campaigns. </s> New York mayor, who traveled to early primary states such as Iowa, says he is running ‘because it’s time we put working people first’

This article is more than 3 months old

This article is more than 3 months old

New York’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, has jumped into the 2020 presidential race, joining at least 21 other declared Democratic candidates for the party’s nomination.

The mayor announced his run with a video released by his campaign.

“There’s plenty of money in this world. There’s plenty of money in this country. It’s just in the wrong hands,” De Blasio says at the beginning of the video. He concludes: “I’m running for president because it’s time we put working people first.”

De Blasio has traveled to early primary states including Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, and formed a federal political action committee (Pac) called Fairness Pac to bankroll his travels.

Who is running for president? The full list of 2020 Democratic candidates Read more

His message on those travels has centered on economic inequality.

De Blasio has sought for years to position himself as a national progressive leader, after racking up accomplishments in his first few years in office including universal pre-kindergarten, paid sick days and living wage legislation and a city ID card available to undocumented immigrants.

But frustrations have built over New York’s crumbling public housing system, where hundreds of children got lead poisoning after officials lied about doing inspections, and stubbornly high homelessness.

De Blasio has also been the target of multiple ethics inquiries, where no criminal charges were brought, but prosecutors found he made inquiries on behalf of political donors seeking favors.

Polls have shown a vast majority of New Yorkers – 76% – don’t think he should run for president, and his aspirations have been widely mocked in his home town and discouraged by his own allies.

“I’m glad I’ve unified the people of New York City,” he quipped when asked about the lack of enthusiasm in the polls.

De Blasio has been criticized for leaving the city to explore a presidential run in early voting states, and that criticism will probably grow as he travels more for official campaign stops. This week, he is scheduled to campaign in Iowa and South Carolina before traveling to Connecticut for his son’s graduation on Sunday.

Political observers said that even if De Blasio’s candidacy doesn’t gain traction, he will be able to promote his policies and potentially angle for a job in a future Democratic administration. He is barred by term limits from running for mayor again.

De Blasio’s Pac has been polling voters in Iowa. He said last week in an appearance on WNYC radio that he has not yet hit the polling or donation thresholds to qualify for the Democratic primary debates.

The previous New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg, decided not to run for president after months of flirting with a bid as a Democrat, opting instead to pour his considerable wealth into the resistance to Donald Trump. Though, since then at least one news report has said Bloomberg was reconsidering his position.

In the video announcing his bid, the mayor touted his work pushing a progressive agenda in New York City before arguing that he is the candidate who can defeat the president.

“I’m a New Yorker, I’ve known Trump is a bully for a long time,” De Blasio said.

Under De Blasio, New York City has challenged Trump immigration policies, including family separation, in court and maintained a commitment to fighting climate change, despite the Trump administration’s rolling back of environmental regulations and withdrawal from the Paris climate accord.

“Donald Trump must be stopped,” De Blasio said.

He is the second Democrat this week to announce they are joining the presidential race, following Montana’s governor, Steve Bullock. </s> NEW YORK -- New York City's 109th mayor officially entered the 2020 race for president Thursday, posting a video on YouTube and then appearing with his wife on "Good Morning America."Mayor Bill de Blasio's slogan is "Working People First," and he joins more than 20 other candidates vying for the Democratic nomination."There's plenty of money in this world. There's plenty of money in this country. It's just in the wrong hands," de Blasio says at the beginning of the video.The mayor took direct aim at President Donald Trump, referring to him as "Con Don." De Blasio, who is in his second term and sixth year as mayor, is expected to travel to Iowa on Friday.President Trump responded to the announcement on Twitter a short time later. Quinnipiac University poll back in April found that 76 percent of New Yorkers do not think de Blasio should run for president. The same poll found that 47 percent of respondents thought a de Blasio campaign would be bad for New York City."The first reaction is what, is he kidding?" Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf said. "But you know what, other mayors have tried, and they've also been forgotten by history. This guy has one big achievement in New York City, it's universal Pre-K, and that's a big deal. So can he run on that nationally? Not impossible. Will it work? The real strategy, wait till the left collapses and hope that he can pick up the pieces."De Blasio will look for a boost in three of the key early voting states.In Iowa, where union votes matter, the mayor is pro-labor. New Hampshire is close to his hometown of Boston. And South Carolina is a state with a sizable number of black voters, a group he performs well with.If he can survive until then, the field may have winnowed considerably. And polls have been wrong about him before."Bill de Blasio has never been a front runner in any race he's been involved in," Sheinkopf said. "He was a mayor by accident. He should've lost, according to polls. Ditto for public advocate. He's prepared to take risks."Following the stop in Iowa Friday, sources say the mayor will head to South Carolina over the weekend.New York City Housing Authority residents protested outside the Good Morning America studios Thursday, saying they will call on the mayor to fix the NYCHA public housing authority and solve the crisis of affordable housing in New York City.De Blasio is not the first New York City mayor to run for president.Back in 1972, Mayor John Lindsay launched a bid for the White House. After he left office, Rudy Giuliani ran for the Republican nomination. Neither candidate did well in the early voting states.---------- </s> Bill de Blasio, mayor of New York City, pauses while speaking during a 'Green New Deal' rally in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York, U.S., on Monday, May 13, 2019.

Mayor Bill de Blasio officially entered the 2020 race for president Thursday morning, vowing to make his campaign a battle against corporations and the wealthy — especially fellow New Yorker Donald Trump.

In an announcement video, de Blasio touted his familiarity with the president: "I know how to take him on."

"Donald Trump must be stopped," he added.

Trump did not waste much time in ripping de Blasio's candidacy. "He is a JOKE," the president tweeted Thursday morning.

After the announcement, de Blasio travels to Iowa and South Carolina for multiple stops over the course of four days, NBC News reported Wednesday.

De Blasio, 58, has faced more resistance to his presidential aspirations — including from his own constituents — than nearly any other Democrat in the race.

Recent polls from Quinnipiac University show the mayor's approval rating underwater in New York City, and 76% of New Yorkers told the pollster in April that de Blasio should not run for president. De Blasio's staunchly progressive rhetoric appears to have turned off New York Republicans: 70% of them disapproved of their mayor, according to Quinnipiac's April poll.

He is not particularly popular in early surveys of Iowa and New Hampshire either.

Nevertheless, de Blasio took a number of steps signaling his intention to run for the White House. The New York Times reported that de Blasio traveled to battleground states, held pricey donor events and spoke at high-profile political conferences. </s> New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio entered the 2020 Democratic presidential primary Thursday morning, setting himself up as the best candidate in a 23-person race to challenge President Donald Trump.

In a video posted online, de Blasio outlined a number of policies he championed in the city, including a $15 minimum wage, guaranteed health care and paid sick leave. He also took direct aim at Trump, calling the President a “bully” and saying he was best equipped to beat him in 2020.

“I’m a New Yorker, I’ve known Trump’s a bully for a long time. This is not news to me or anyone else here. And I know how to take him on,” de Blasio said. “Don’t back down in the face of a bully — confront him, take him on.”

He added: “Donald Trump must be stopped — I’ve beaten him before and I will do it again. I’m Bill de Blasio, and I’m running for president because it’s time we put working people first.”

De Blasio’s Thursday entrance into the race, which was first reported by NBC News, brings the total number of candidates to 23 nearly nine months before the first votes are cast.

De Blasio will head out on the trail almost immediately following an appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America, traveling to Iowa and South Carolina on his early itinerary. The two-term mayor, who in 2017 became the first Democrat re-elected to his office in more than three decades, joins the race after months of deliberations and a handful of visits to early states like Iowa and New Hampshire.

Even before he made his plans official, de Blasio has come under fire — and some mockery — from the city’s unrelenting press corps, a group he’s clashed with repeatedly over the years and which openly delights in the mayor’s every misstep or misfortune. Still, his national profile is less defined, and de Blasio, as he introduces himself to Democrats outside New York, is expected to sell a record of progressive policy wins — bolstered by a racially diverse coalition of support — in a city with more residents than the home states of some of his rivals.

The questions dogging de Blasio, which tend to boil down to a simple “Why?,” will be familiar to him. His first campaign for mayor was greeted with similar skepticism and doubt, if not the hostility and contempt generated by his presidential ambitions. Whether de Blasio can transform those perceptions on the national stage — where he’s already been roasted by The Onion, which joked in a headline last week, “De Blasio PAC Spends $30 Million On Ads Urging Candidate Not To Embarrass Self By Running” — will be his first test.

“I think Bill de Blasio has a toxic relationship with the press corps that covers him. It goes both ways,” former aide Rebecca Katz, who is not involved in his new campaign, told CNN. “And that’s going to make it very hard for this run because wherever he will be, whatever small town in Iowa or New Hampshire, he will have NY1 and the New York Post front and center. Whether he likes it or not.”

The Post has already been alongside the mayor during some early test runs. When he got caught in an Iowa snowstorm, it crowed over his decision — reportedly unsuccessful — to drive through the blizzard. When he was forced to stopover at a motel, the tabloid gleefully reported that, “instead of enjoying some of the Hawkeye State’s award-winning barbecue or succulent steaks, he had to make do with a microwaved burrito.”

But the press hasn’t been all bad — even when it’s been critical.

De Blasio’s climate protest this week outside Trump Tower, which had to be moved inside Trump Tower because of the weather, set off a Twitter clash with President Donald Trump’s son, Eric. Their back-and-forth led Fox News host and Trump super-ally Sean Hannity to name de Blasio his “Villain of the Day” — a designation most Democratic primary candidates would gladly wear.

De Blasio’s candidacy begins now in earnest now, but he has been running against Trump and national Republicans for some time. At his November 2017 re-election party in Brooklyn, he said the city had “sent a message: You can’t take on New York values and win, Mr. President. If you turn against the values of your hometown, your hometown will fight back.”

When the Alabama state legislature passed its near total abortion ban this week, he called it “vile and illegal” in a tweet and then urged the state’s Republican governor, Kay Ivey, to come down “on the right side of history” and veto the bill.

De Blasio’s status at home has taken a hit as he ventured more openly into national politics. The popular policies — like universal pre-K and raising the minimum wage — have mostly disappeared from the headlines, which have focused on speculation over potential fundraising scandals and stories about the mayor’s commuting habits.

The murder rate in New York City is low and declined again last year, but economic inequality — the focus of de Blasio’s first campaign — remains a problem, as does the public housing authority, which has left many tenants living in squalor. De Blasio’s constant feuding with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, most visibly over the city’s troubled subway system, which is run by the state, also means he won’t enter this primary with much support from statewide leaders.

Still, predictions of de Blasio’s imminent unraveling should be tempered — as history suggests.

“There was no one who believed Bill de Blasio was going to win (in 2013),” Katz said. “Everyone thought he was crazy. He was in single digits right up until a few months before Election Day and he proved them wrong and then he went ahead and prove the pundits wrong when they said he couldn’t get universal Pre-K done, and then did in his first year.” </s> New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says he's joining crowded field of Democrats running for president in 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says he's joining crowded field of Democrats running for president in 2020. </s> The mayor of America's biggest city, New York's Bill de Blasio, is jumping into a presidential race where an expansive Democratic field includes the man running a city about 99% smaller.

The second-term mayor announced Thursday that he is running for the White House. He has spent time traveling to early primary states, hinting at a possible run before becoming the 23rd Democrat to declare a candidacy. But the progressive de Blasio could still find it hard to stand out in such a crowded race, and many top Democrats and onetime allies have cautioned him against such a bid.

The risk may not seem so daunting, however, given that Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind. — a city with 1% of New York City's population — has gotten visibility, alongside national figures like former Vice President Joe Biden, senators including Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris, and others.

Rebecca Katz, a former de Blasio aide, told a New York City podcast in February that while she thinks his message is "100%" right, "I'm just not so sure he's the right messenger." Politico talked to others who were far more frank on background, calling a presidential campaign "idiotic" and "insane." And even as his own wife, Chirlane McCray, said her husband would "be a great president," she admitted that "the timing is not exactly right." A week later McCray tried to walk that back.

Even in his hometown there is little enthusiasm for a de Blasio campaign. An early April Quinnipiac University poll found that three-quarters of New York City voters don't want the mayor to run for president; just under half think his campaign would be bad for the city, including 43% of Democrats who express such concerns.

De Blasio has argued he has been counted down and out in his political campaigns before, only to succeed. He told The New York Times at the beginning of the year, "I have spent a lot of time in dead last in many a poll in many a race. ... It's not where you start. It's where you end."

That was true for his ascension to Gracie Mansion. When he ran for the mayor's office in 2013, the then-New York City public advocate was at the back of the Democratic pack. But as other candidates faded or imploded, de Blasio began to gain traction, and his progressive positions earned him support from activists and celebrities. De Blasio served on the City Council before being elected public advocate in 2009.

The New York mayor's progressive platform helped him win in the first place, and since then he has lamented that he doesn't get enough credit for his achievements, including decreasing arrests in the city. He faced backlash over the decision for one of the new Amazon headquarters to locate in Queens, as well as the reversal of that decision, and he has gotten backlash over the city's transit system.

Earlier this week, inside Trump Tower, de Blasio unveiled his own version of a Green New Deal for New York City, attracting pro-Trump protesters who distracted from the event.

Prior to running for office himself, de Blasio was a political aide. He served as campaign manager for Hillary Clinton's successful Senate bid in 2000, but the relationship between them has become icy over the past two decades. He was slow to endorse her 2016 presidential bid, and after originally being sworn in by former President Bill Clinton, last year de Blasio chose Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton's 2016 primary rival, to swear him in for a second term.

Now, de Blasio has joined a race that includes Sanders as a leading candidate. </s> New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, an unapologetically progressive Democrat who has been a frequent critic of the Trump administration’s policies, has decided to go after the president’s job.

De Blasio, 57, launched his candidacy for president on Thursday with the central campaign message, “Working People First,” after months of speculation that he would add his name to a growing list of Democrats eager to take on President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

In a video released on Thursday, de Blasio returned to the theme of income inequality that animated his first mayoral campaign in 2013, when he emerged as a leading voice for the burgeoning left wing that has since reshaped his party.

“People in every part of this country feel stuck or even like they’re going backwards,” he said in the video. “But the rich got richer.”

The mayor, who is barred from seeking a third four-year term in 2021, has struggled to build a national profile, even as he has been eclipsed in the national consciousness by other progressives like U.S. senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who are now his rivals for the presidency.

He is scheduled to travel to the early-voting states of Iowa and South Carolina this weekend to begin campaigning.

 In the video, the mayor emphasized his record of progressive accomplishments, including universal pre-kindergarten, a $15 minimum wage and paid sick leave, all in a city that has a bigger population, more than 8 million, than most U.S. states.

He also promised to stand up to Trump.

“Don’t back down in the face of a bully,” he said. “Confront him and take him on.”

Still, de Blasio faces an uphill battle to stand out among nearly two dozen Democratic contenders, including former

 Vice President Joe Biden and a long list of experienced politicians.

Most New Yorkers appear unenthusiastic about de Blasio’s presidential aspirations. A Quinnipiac University poll in April found more than three-quarters of New Yorkers did not feel he should make a White House bid.

His popularity took a hit after a federal investigation found the mayor made inquiries to city agencies on behalf of donors, though it cleared him of criminal wrongdoing. De Blasio has denied misconduct, saying he acted appropriately at all times.

De Blasio has sharply criticized Trump on issues like climate change, immigration and policing. On Monday, he held a news conference inside Trump Tower to call on the Trump Organization to meet newly enacted emissions standards in their skyscrapers, or face significant fines.

In a preview of what could be to come, the event drew scathing insults on Twitter from Trump’s two oldest sons, Eric and Donald Jr., who run the family company. The president retweeted a message from Eric Trump slamming de Blasio’s stewardship of his family’s hometown. </s> The Knight Concert Hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is shown, Friday, June 21, 2019, in Miami. The Democratic Presidential Debates are scheduled to take place June 26 and 27, with 10 candidates competing each night. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

MIAMI (AP) — The Latest on the Democratic presidential debates (all times local):

The scene following Wednesday night’s debate was chaotic as the candidates dispersed into the spin room to try to frame the conversation following the main event.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, former Housing Secretary Julian Castro, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, former John Delaney Rep. John Delaney and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar all appeared in person among the crowds of reporters gathered.

Castro, de Blasio and Booker, who each had standout moments during the debate, were mobbed by dozens of cameras and print reporters as they entered the room. Castro and de Blasio took victory laps, each telling reporters he was happy with how he drove the conversation.

Other campaigns, including a handful representing candidates not debating till Thursday, sent surrogates and advisers to drive talking points to the media.

Bill de Blasio is making no apologies for his aggressive style during the first Democratic debate.

The New York mayor says Democrats shouldn’t “be afraid to mix it up” and argues it’s a “giant turnoff to the voters” when politicians mince their words.

De Blasio notably went after former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke for his opposition to eliminating private insurance in favor of nationalized health care.

De Blasio faces an uphill battle to secure the nomination.

But after the debate he chalked up his pugilism to frustration with his rivals. He says many of them said things that didn’t “fit the values of the party” and he is vowing to “call ’em out.”

The Democratic presidential candidates have concluded the first 2020 debate emphasizing the promise of America.

The 10 candidates ended the night Wednesday by boiling down their stump speeches into answers that included why they were best positioned to beat President Donald Trump and how the primary is a battle for the soul of the Democratic Party.

Fighting poverty, combating climate change and the proper role of government were prominent features of the concluding comments of the first debate of the 2020 cycle.

Thursday will be the second night of debates. It, too, will feature 10 candidates, including front-runners former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. California Sen. Kamala Harris and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg will also appear.

The 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls have given a range of answers about what they see as the greatest threat facing the U.S., including China, climate change and President Donald Trump.

The most common answer at Wednesday’s debate was China, mentioned by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, ex-Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan and former Maryland Rep. John Delaney. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (dih BLAH’-zee-oh) said Russia because the country “is trying to undermine our democracy.”

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke said climate change. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who’s made climate change the emphasis of his campaign, pointed instead to Trump.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii said nuclear war, which also got a mention from Delaney. Klobuchar also said Iran.

The urgency with which to address changes in the world’s climate has emerged as somewhat of a unifying topic at the first Democratic presidential debate.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee called his state’s progress on the issue the “gold standard.” He said Wednesday that he’s the only member of the massive Democratic field to make tackling the problem his top priority.

Asked how he’d win over voters worried about possible government overreach in climate-related restrictions, former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke pledged to help communities including the debate host city Miami, an area “on the front lines of climate change today.”

Former Obama-era Cabinet secretary Julián Castro vowed a recommitment to the Paris Climate Accord, while former Maryland Rep. John Delaney noted he was alone in introducing a bipartisan carbon tax bill in Congress.

Elizabeth Warren’s campaign trail refrain is that she has “a plan for it.” That apparently extends to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who refused to hold a hearing for President Barack Obama’s last Supreme Court nominee.

Warren was asked during Wednesday’s Democratic presidential debate if she has a plan for dealing with the Kentucky Republican, who prides himself in blocking Democrats’ legislative priorities.

She answered, “I do,” drawing cheers from the audience.

The Massachusetts senator says energized Democrats have to “stay on the front lines,” even after the 2020 presidential election is decided.

She says pressure must be applied both from activists on the outside and leaders on the inside “to make sure this Congress reflects the will of the people.”

The Democratic presidential candidates are talking in very personal terms about gun violence and how to curb it.

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said at Wednesday’s debate that he lives in a neighborhood where shootings are common. He supports gun licensing and says, “This is not about policy. This is personal.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts says the toughest questions she’s gotten on the campaign trail are from kids who ask how she’d keep them safe. Warren says the U.S. should “double-down” on research into what works to reduce gun violence.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (dih BLAH’-zee-oh) talked about raising a black son and trying to keep him safe, including from police.

Wednesday’s debate is taking place in Miami, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the high school in Parkland, Florida, where a gunman killed 17 people last year.

The second hour of the first Democratic presidential debate has been derailed by technical difficulties.

As debate moderators Rachel Maddow and Chuck Todd took over Wednesday for the next round of the debate, the 10 candidates on stage were unable to hear the question Todd was trying to ask about the federal government’s role in getting guns off the street.

Following back-and-forth confusion, Todd announced the debate would head to a commercial break.

President Donald Trump tweeted that debate hosts NBC and MSNBC “should be ashamed of themselves for having such a horrible technical breakdown in the middle of the debate.”

Trump is en route to Osaka, Japan, for the Group of 20 summit.

The first hour of the first Democratic presidential debate of the 2020 cycle passed with hardly a mention of the man whom the 10 candidates on stage hope to face next November.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar was first to utter President Donald Trump’s name, saying a few minutes into the debate, that Trump “sits in the White House and gloats” while the economy isn’t working for everyone.

She also briefly referenced him again as the debate headed into its second hour. Responding to a question about U.S. tensions with Iran, Klobuchar said, “I don’t think we should conduct foreign policy in our bathrobe at 5 in the morning.”

Other candidates invoked the president’s name in making their arguments on immigration.

Trump was en route to Japan for the G-20 summit as the two-night event got underway. He has weighed in once so far on the debate, tweeting, “BORING!”

This item has been corrected to show that Klobuchar uttered Trump’s name a few minutes into the debate, not 16 minutes into the debate.

Sen. Cory Booker is alone at the Democratic presidential debate in calling it a “mistake” to sign onto the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran.

The New Jersey senator was the only one of the 10 candidates on stage in Miami on Wednesday not to raise his hand when asked if he supported the deal. Under the agreement, Iran agreed to limit its enrichment of uranium and submit to U.N. inspections in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Pressed to explain his rationale, Booker said as president he would “do the best I can to secure this country.”

President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the accord in May 2018 and has imposed increasingly tough sanctions to pressure Iran into a better deal. The U.S. has threatened sanctions against countries that trade with Iran.

The Democratic presidential candidates are decrying the Trump administration’s tough immigration policies, saying the president is to blame for the deaths of an immigrant father and his toddler daughter found lying face-down after drowning in the Rio Grande.

At Wednesday’s debate, former Obama administration housing chief Julián Castro says a photo of the family “is heartbreaking” and “should piss us all off.” He also attacked fellow Texan Beto O’Rourke for not supporting fully decriminalizing the act of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker spoke briefly in Spanish to further chastise Trump’s policies, O’Rourke, a former congressman, took a question in Spanish and answered it, saying, “We are going to treat everyone with respect.”

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (dih BLAH’-zee-oh) says the economy hasn’t been hurt by immigrants. He says corporations are to blame.

Questions over private health insurance have provoked the first clash of the Democratic presidential debate.

Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke was explaining Wednesday why he supported a plan known as “Medicare for America” and not “Medicare for All,” saying he wants people who are happy with their current health insurance plan to keep it.

When pressed if he wanted to fully replace private insurance, O’Rourke said: “No.” That prompted New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (dih BLAH’-zee-oh) to jump in from across the stage, saying, “Private insurance is not working.”

O’Rourke started to respond that people unhappy could choose Medicare, but de Blasio shot back, “Why are you defending private insurance?”

The debate over how to handle private health insurance is emerging as a dividing line in the first 2020 Democratic debate.

Only Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (dih BLAH’-zee-oh) raised their hands when asked if they would abolish private health insurance entirely in favor of a government-run plan.

Warren went on to note that she supports a “Medicare for All” plan proposed by fellow hopeful Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The issue opened into a debate among many of the 10 candidates on stage on the first of two back-to-back debate nights. De Blasio later interrupted Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s answer on how he’d handle health insurance by declaring that the current system is “not working.”

President Donald Trump is skipping the opening minutes of the first Democratic debate to greet service members at Alaska’s Elmendorf Air Force Base.

Trump told troops as the debate was starting Wednesday: “I had my choice between you and them. And I chose you.”

Air Force One is refueling at the air base as Trump travels to Osaka, Japan, for meetings with world leaders at the Group of 20 summit. Asked how his opposition will fare, Trump says, “I think they’re all going to do very poorly.”

Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke showed off his fluent Spanish while answering his first question of the Democratic presidential debate.

O’Rourke said Wednesday in English at the debate in Miami that “this economy has got to work for everyone” and that, right now, it isn’t. Then he switched to Spanish, saying in that language that “we need to include everyone” in a booming national economy.

O’Rourke, who hails from the Texas-Mexico border city of El Paso, spoke in Spanish at length, then switched back to English. He said the Trump administration has focused on helping the wealthy and large corporations over everyday Americans — echoing similar sentiments of the other Democrats on stage.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren started off the first Democratic presidential debate answering a question about her policy driven campaign and how it may affect what is seen as a good economy.

Warren said Wednesday: “Who is this economy really working for?” She says, “It’s doing great for a thinner and thinner slice at the top.”

The Massachusetts senator says the economy is working well for “giant oil companies” and those who want to invest in private prisons, but not for those struggling and Americans facing the effects of climate change.

The second question of the night went to Sen. Amy Klobuchar on her criticism of the concept of free college.

The first debate of the 2020 Democratic presidential race is kicking off with a two-hour event featuring 10 candidates, including three senators, a mayor and several current or former members of Congress.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is center stage for Wednesday’s debate in Miami because she leads the night’s field in polling. She is flanked by former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey. At the far ends are New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland, who are polling at the bottom of the group.

The candidates will get right to it. NBC says they will be allowed to give closing statements but no openings.

Ten other candidates will meet Thursday for the second debate night.

The chairman of the Democratic National Committee is firing up the crowd at his party’s first presidential primary debate — and previewing some lines of attack that candidates will use against President Donald Trump.

Tom Perez said Wednesday that the planet is under threat from unchecked climate change and that justice itself has been threatened under the current administration.

He says the Trump White House is nothing but a long trail of “broken promises” and corruption. There was long applause when Perez said immigrant children shouldn’t be separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Ten Democrats hoping to deny Trump a second term will kick off two nights of back-to-back debates shortly. They entered the stage and waved to the audience before the debate began.

John Hickenlooper’s struggle to get noticed in the crowded presidential primary field was on full display when a staffer at the first Democratic debate mistook him for a member of the press.

The former Colorado governor was entering the Miami debate hall Wednesday when a security guard asked if he was there to pick up his media credentials.

A reporter for National Public Radio who witnessed the exchange tweeted that Hickenlooper responded: “I’m a candidate.”

But Hickenlooper may have gotten the last laugh with a jab at President Donald Trump, who was a reality TV star before he entered politics.

Hickenlooper quipped on Twitter: “Last time, we elected the most famous candidate. Let’s try something new.”

Hickenlooper will join nine other candidates Thursday night for the second of two debates.

White House hopefuls in Miami for the Democratic debates are trekking to nearby Homestead, Florida, to visit a large migrant detention facility.

The stops are intended to draw attention to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, which have seen migrant children separated from their families. Homestead is about 40 miles southwest of Miami and is a spot where the U.S. is detaining migrant teens.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren visited the site Wednesday, with Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar planning a stop later in the afternoon.

Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke is scheduled to visit the site on Thursday.

And on Friday, California Sen. Kamala Harris, former housing secretary Julian Castro, former U.S. Rep. John Delaney and Pete Buttigieg (BOO’-tuh-juhj), the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, all plan to visit.

Ten presidential candidates, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, are set to meet on the debate stage for the first night of Democratic debates to offer their pitches to voters and attempt a breakout moment for their campaigns.

For many of the White House hopefuls, Wednesday’s debate will be the highest-profile opportunity yet to offer their vision for the country.

Given the massive field, the debate will be split over two nights, with 10 other candidates — including former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders — appearing Thursday.

Warren, the sole top-tier candidate at Wednesday’s debate, will take center stage. But she could still face challenges. The other candidates aren’t as well known and could use the moment to make an aggressive move to stand out.
Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio announces he is running for the Democratic Party's nomination to be President of the United States in the 2020 presidential election.