De Blasio again declines to back Clinton

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio doubled down on his reluctance to endorse Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid during a news conference in New York on Tuesday.

“This is an election that’s a year and a half away and a candidate who has not been in the public eye in this sense for eight years and we are still beginning to hear what she stands for,” the progressive Democrat said. 

{mosads}DeBlasio added that it’s “normal” to want to hear more from a newly-minted candidate. He lauded Clinton for her work with early childhood education and called her “gutsy” and “decades ahead of the curve” for her devotion to universal health care. 

Despite the praise, DeBlasio’s reluctance has raised eyebrows given his past relationship with the Clintons. He previously served as Clinton’s campaign manager during her 2000 run for Senate.

While the live stream faltered as DeBlasio continued to address his view on Clinton’s campaign, Crain’s New York Business reported that he referred to her candidacy as an “unusual situation” because of Clinton’s political celebrity. 

“Here we have a very well-known leader, a very capable leader, someone who I said on Sunday is more qualified for that office than the vast majority of people who ever ran for it, but she hasn’t spoken to a number of issues for years for a good reason. She was secretary of state, and not in a position to address domestic issues. And since then she’s been out of the public eye,” he said, according to Crain’s.

“This is the first time we’re going to get to hear her talk about a host of issues.”

But on Sunday’s edition of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” he didn’t immediately jump onto the Clinton bandwagon, explaining that he wants to “see the substance” before he decided whether to endorse just like any other candidate.