De Blasio: ‘Not the week’ to announce presidential run

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said late Monday that it was “not the week” to announce a presidential run.  

“It’s not the night, no,” told host Errol Louis on NY1 radio, according to the New York Daily News. “And not the week.”

{mosads}The mayor also told Lewis that he was not certain of his plans after news reports circulated last week claiming that de Blasio would soon enter the race.

“There was a story that assumed some specific thing that never was and you can’t have an announcement before there’s a decision,” de Blasio said, according to the newspaper. “I think that’s normal, it’s a big decision, obviously.”

If he entered the race, the New York City mayor would join a crowded field of more than 20 other announced Democratic hopefuls vying for the party’s nomination in 2020. Recent polls have shown the race largely dominated by two candidates, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), while other hopefuls including South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have risen in the polls as well in recent days.

De Blasio has been stoking 2020 speculation for months, and in February visited the nearby state of New Hampshire, the site of the first primary elections of 2020.

“He wants to make sure ideas like pre-K for all, paid personal time and mental health are on the table as Democrats debate the party’s vision for the future,” de Blasio’s communications director, Mike Casca, said at the time.