De Blasio trolls Bill O’Reilly as debate begins

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) trolled former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly during the second night of the second 2020 presidential debates Wednesday.

During the first night of debates Tuesday, O’Reilly posted in a now-deleted tweet, “No hand on heart for De Blasio during Star Spangled Banner in true communist tradition.”

{mosads}O’Reilly mistook de Blasio for Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who is also a White House hopeful and participated in the debate Tuesday.  

Mashable reporter Matt Binder shared a screenshot of the tweet. 

lmao that was Tim Ryan. de Blasio isn’t even on the stage tonight. #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/zZVWs1gNI8

— Matt Binder (@MattBinder) July 31, 2019

After the national anthem played before the debate Wednesday, de Blasio tweeted “God bless America #DemDebate” and tagged O’Reilly in a follow-up tweet. 

God bless America. #DemDebate

— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) August 1, 2019

Cc: @BillOReilly

— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) August 1, 2019

Ryan denied protesting the national anthem Wednesday. A campaign spokesperson said the lawmaker “didn’t mean to make any statement last night in Detroit, it was a moment of absentmindedness while on a debate stage that won’t happen again,” in a statement. 

“He was, in fact, singing along with the choir to honor our country. Congressman Ryan loves our country and will continue to honor the flag during the anthem in future events, as he has in countless events in the past,” the statement continued.