The tree fell in the presidential jungle. No one heard it.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced he is dropping out of the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
“I’m gonna end my presidential campaign, continue my work as mayor of New York City and I’m gonna keep speaking up for working people and for a Democratic party that stands for working people,” de Blasio announced on Friday on MSNBC.
He finally got the message. Thank you, mayor, but your services are no longer required.
In his own city, the liberal Democrat is nearly as unpopular as homeboy Donald J. Trump.
De Blasio, 58, pitched a “21st Century Worker’s Bill of Rights.” He telegraphed that, as a prominent New Yorker, he was best-positioned to take on Trump, the prominent, now-banished New Yorker.
Taking a page from Trump, de Blasio even coined his own nickname for the Republican incumbent, dubbing him “Con Don.”
That was a keeper.
De Blasio, not so much. “Getting out there, being able to hear people’s concerns, address them with new ideas, has been an extraordinary experience,” he told MSNBC. “But I have to tell you, at the same time, I feel like I’ve contributed all I can to this primary election and it’s clearly not my time, so I’m going to end my presidential campaign.”
When de Blasio announced in May, he was a decided long shot. Other, better-known candidates were already gaining steam.
He got into the first two presidential debates, but came off as a ham-handed blowhard. His biggest “moment” came when protestors interrupted the July debate in Detroit.
Audience members injected a blazing New York City controversy, shouting, “Fire Pantaleo,” at the nationally televised debate.
Onstage, de Blasio seemed oblivious.
Staten Island, New York police officer Daniel Pantaleo was involved in the 2014 death of Eric Garner, an unarmed African American. Garner died after being placed in a chokehold by Pantaleo, who is white. Garner was targeted by police for allegedly illegally selling cigarettes.
De Blasio drew heat for not calling for Pantaleo’s dismissal, particularly after Trump’s Justice Department declined to prosecute the officer.
De Blasio has argued he didn’t have the legal authority to fire Pantaleo, but critics said he did little to push the cause.
The New York City Police Department fired Pantaleo last month, but the damage was done.
My New York friends despise de Blasio for hypocrisy. He embraces race, crediting his marriage to a black woman and his biracial son. Yet, they say, he is not outspoken enough about racial injustice in his own back yard.
He is remarkably disliked at home, according to a Siena College presidential poll released last week. De Blasio polled at less than 1 percent in every region of New York State.
Only 33 percent of New York City voters view him favorably.
That’s nearly as bad as “Con Don” Trump, who was viewed favorably by 25 percent of New York City voters, according to the poll.
De Blasio’s missteps and foibles aside, it is tough — really tough — for mayors to gain traction in presidential pursuits.
Just ask former New York mayors. Rudy Giuliani got clobbered in his 2008 presidential dalliance. Michael Bloomberg seriously looked at running in 2020, but wisely demurred.
The massive challenges of national fundraising and gaining visibility and electoral credibility are monumental obstacles for any mayor.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, take note.
Laura Washington is a columnist for the Sun-Times and a political analyst for ABC 7.
Follow her on Twitter @MediaDervish
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