NYC mayor: Hillary Clinton’s plan for Wall Street reform more progressive than Bernie’s
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says Hillary Clinton’s plan for Wall Street reform is more progressive than those of any candidate in the 2016 presidential race — including the one outlined by her Democratic challenger, Bernie Sanders.
“Her plan actually goes after the problems we see today,” de Blasio told Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric on Monday. “When she talks about the things we need to do to rein in Wall Street, she’s done her homework.”
Sanders, he said, hasn’t.
“Bernie has put down some very moving ideas and some powerful concepts,” de Blasio said, but hasn’t put forth a “chapter and verse” on how to carry them out.
The mayor, who endorsed Clinton last fall, declined to say whether he would advise the former secretary of state to release the transcripts of her paid speeches to Goldman Sachs because they are “a nonissue.”
“Look at her platform,” de Blasio said. “She did not pull punches in that platform — she could’ve. Instead, she said very boldly, ‘Here’s how we’re going to rein in Wall Street. Here’s how we’re going to tax the wealthy.’”
De Blasio said he doesn’t worry about Clinton’s “authenticity” problem — with a recent poll showing just 37 percent of Americans saying they believe she is honest and trustworthy, and a majority (57 percent) believing she is not.
“I don’t worry about the currents that run through the public discourse,” de Blasio said. “Two and a half million more people have voted for her than Bernie Sanders. She’s won more states than Bernie Sanders. So clearly a lot of people are hearing her message.”
The mayor pointed to Clinton’s record on standing up for women’s rights and health care reform as proof of her “consistency on a set of issues.”
“She is someone who pushes social change very vibrantly,” de Blasio said. “Whether that’s always received in the discourse is a different question.”
The mayor’s comments come ahead of the pivotal April 19 New York primary, which will award 291 delegates in the Democratic race.
De Blasio also insisted he doesn’t worry that the vast majority of young voters support Sanders over Clinton.
“I think young people have gone through a very troubling time in our history,” de Blasio said. “And I think they’re skeptical. I think they have every reason to be skeptical … But ultimately I believe the vast amount of them will support Hillary.”
