Sanders calls NY mayor antidote to Trump’s ‘ugly’ leadership
NEW YORK — Bernie Sanders, the Vermont U.S. senator who stoked liberal passions nationwide as a Democratic candidate in last year’s presidential contest, stepped into New York politics for a day on Monday, casting first-term Mayor Bill de Blasio as the antidote to the “un-American” leadership of President Donald Trump.
Everything de Blasio is trying to do is “the opposite” of what Trump is trying to do, a fiery Sanders declared at a de Blasio campaign rally in Manhattan.
“Trump, in an extremely un-American, ugly and almost unprecedented way, unprecedented way, is trying to divide us up, based on the colour of our skin or our religion, or the country we came from or our sexual orientation,” Sanders said. “And this mayor is leading this city in a way to bring us together.”
Sanders’ appearance came as de Blasio worked to energize voters just eight days before New York’s mayoral election. The Democratic mayor is expected to cruise to victory against a little-known Republican opponent, but there are signs of malaise among some supporters.