Transcript: Mayor de Blasio and Senator Tom Harkin Hold Press Gaggle in Des Moines, Iowa

April 16, 2015

Mayor Bill de Blasio: I said it in there, and I mean it – this is one of the giants in the American progressive movement. Tom Harkin has been an inspiration to a lot of us for a long time. And he in his career reminds us that big things can happen. You know, I mentioned the Americans With Disabilities Act – I guarantee you that the politics around that at the time was very, very difficult [inaudible] about disabilities. He had to overcome the stigma and misunderstanding. He had to get people together on the notion that if we didn’t address disabilities we were going to go backwards as a country, and he achieved it. And so, it is personally very inspirational for me to be in Tom Harkin’s presence as a reminder that things can change. [inaudible] gotta make it happen. 

Senator Thomas Harkin: Well, let me again welcome the mayor to Iowa – back to Iowa. As he mentioned, you know, his grandmother came from Blanchard, Iowa. I was privileged to march in the Labor Day Parade last fall with the mayor. And by the way – I didn’t mention this to you – I’m going to be in New York City on July the 12th in yet another parade –

Mayor: Yes –

Senator Harkan: – the disabilities parade –

Mayor: It would be wonderful. We’re very proud of the fact we’ll be hosting a disabilities parades. 

Senator Harkin: Bill de Blasio is one of our great progressive leaders in America – a new, young, progressive thinker and doer. Not only, as I said, thinking of ways on how we make progress towards more equality, and fairness, and opportunity, but actually doing it as a mayor. So, he really is sort of setting the standard –

Mayor: The only word I heard was young, and thank you.

Question: Mayor, did you see Hillary Clinton on this trip? Do you think she’s hearing your message?

Mayor: I did not see her on this trip. I am hopeful that she and the people around her are listening to a lot of progressive voices in this country and recognizing that it’s important to address these issues. So, I remain hopeful. 

Question: You talked a lot over the last couple of days [inaudible] talk a little about these issues that you talked about – paid leave, making things more affordable, healthcare, and so forth. And I’m wondering what specifically do you want to hear from her, and I supposed from other candidates before, I imagine, you’ll endorse?

Mayor: Well, the kinds of things I care about I outlined in there. A lot of it is around progressive taxation, and tax fairness, and the kind of, I think, bold things we have to do to reenforce families. So that’s paid sick leave for all, that’s all-day pre-k for all, that’s after school programs – all the things I’ve talked about. I also want to say this goes certainly well beyond me. I don’t – as I said the other day – I don’t overrate any one person’s endorsement. I’m working with progressive leaders all over the country. And we are going to put together a progressive vision and outline it next month in Washington. And as I said, we’re going to have a presidential forum in the fall. And the notion is that there are progressive leaders, progressive organizations, labor organizations, the folks who organize an extraordinary effort yesterday – 200 cities around the country – who are going to agree on a set of fundamental changes we need in this country. So I think it’s important that all candidates speak to that. But in terms of my personal sense of the priorities, I think I laid out in the speech very clearly eight things that are particularly important.

Question: You’re saying that [inaudible] any kind of context from Hillary Clinton or her campaign [inaudible]

Mayor: [inaudible] I had spoken to her and her campaign quite a bit before Sunday. And as I said, everything I said on Meet the Press I had said to Secretary Clinton and her team before then.

Question: But again – I’m sorry – are you getting any reaction over the last few days?

Mayor: I think that – you know, I’m never surprised when there’s certain perceptions [inaudible] reality. I think the fact is that if for weeks and months I and others have been taking about these issues [inaudible] it came as a shock to anyone who had heard those comments [inaudible]. So, I have been beating this drum for quite a while with – with Clinton about the fact that these issues need to be addressed. You know, I think a lot of people – she and a lot of people in her orbit understand how important these issues are, and I’m very hopeful we’re going to see more about it.

Question: [inaudible] 

Mayor: Well, I think it’s a little more complex than that. I [inaudible] to say this that I respect, of course, the progressives in the congress, and there are a number of them. I respect my fellow Democrats. But this issue’s not being addressed. It’s just the bottom line – it’s not being addressed. And you know, we throw up our hands and say, wow, the Tea Party – what a problem that is. Or we can go and change the politics in this country. And I think more and more leaders have the resolve to do that. This is one of the things – I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to turn that [inaudible]. One of the things Tom Harkin did was he changed the politics. He changed the debate. He changed the discourse. I think, in a way, there’s a bit of a history problem here. The assumption that the politics are set the way they are today – the Tea Party didn’t exist a few years ago. This is a reality that only grew in recent years, and it can be undone, and it will be undone. 

Question: So, is that failure of the Obama administration?

Mayor: First and foremost, in my view, Congress has failed to act. And I think even though there’s some good people in the congress, they too did not manage to change the dynamic within the congress and in the national debate. The Obama administration –

Question: [inaudible]

Mayor: – just hang on one sec – I’ll get to everyone. The Obama administration I give a lot of credit for two things – what the president did with the Affordable Care Act – it’s one of the most profound contributions to addressing income inequality in many years in the country because it really affected the bottom line of families [inaudible]. He can be proud of that [inaudible] as having done something immensely important to address income inequality. And his last state of the union speech – I said many times that was a great blueprint for addressing a lot of these challenges. My critique would be I wish the president had, you know, early and often talked about income inequality, and rallied the American people to address the issue. I wish that had happened earlier on in his administration.

Question: Mr. Mayor, I apologize for last night for not recognizing you as the animal rights group PETA’s person of the year. I apologize for that oversight –

Mayor: You’re good. 

[Laughter]

Question: I want to follow up on something that I think you mislead me about, and that was who funded your campaign. It was Citizen’s United [inaudible] who obviously are wealthy New Yorkers –

Mayor: Brother, I’m going to answer your question and then I’m going to go back to the questions at hand. I believe in activist –

Question: [inaudible] want to put working people of New York out of business. The carriage owners – the horse and carriage owners are the [inaudible]

Mayor: I appreciate activist journalism, I really do. But he bottom line is this – the vast majority of money from campaign, as I’ve said, came from smaller donors. You could look at the facts that came through our campaign finance system – it’s a very progressive one. I’m very proud of what we’re doing to protect animals, and people, and the jobs of people.

Question: Mayor, one of the students we interviewed said that the attendees were asked not to ask you any questions about 2016. Did you know about that? Was that at your request?

Mayor: I’ve never heard anything like that.

Questions: One of the students upstairs said you’d have her vote if you ran for president. Is this something that – has the thought crossed your mind on this trip?

Mayor: No, no, I have one ambition to run for reelection as mayor of New York City. That’s it.

Question: So you’ve completely ruled out running in 2016?

Mayor: Obviously. I have one ambition – let me say it again. I’m going to look into your phone. I have one ambition – I’m running for reelection as mayor of New York City.

Question: 2020?

Mayor: I have one ambition – I’m running for reelection as mayor of New York City in 2017. Yes?

Question: You mentioned that in –

Mayor: This is Michael Grynbaum, by the way. I think you spoke [inaudible]. I want to introduce people.

Question: You said in your remarks that in 2004 and 2008, Iowa had sent a clear message to the nation about moving in a progressive direction. I’m just wondering if you could elaborate on that and explain what you meant by it.

Mayor: Well again, I’m in the presence of a giant. I think if you go back and look at the history, Tom Harkin’s impacts on this state, and therefore on the national discourse because this state is the center of the universe politically. It is a very powerful thing that the most universal leader of this state over decades was one of the strongest progressives in this country, particularly on economic matters. And I think that had a big impact on the debates leading up to the caucuses and during the caucuses. And I think you saw that Iowa affected the trajectory of the campaigns. My analysis of 2004 and 2008 is that the people of Iowa changed the trajectory of the country, and certainly of the Democratic Party. The conversation we’re having this minute, today, has its roots in 2004 and 2008. And I think it’s part of why I have tremendous respect for this state. And I think it’s been under-recognized as a state with a very strong progressive tradition. The Democratic caucus goers of  Iowa are – not all of them  are profoundly progressive, but a very high percentage are profoundly progressive – very demanding of the candidates. They put them through their paces. And I think they helped the candidates get to stronger positions, starting in 2004 for sure. And that’s part of why I think we’re crystallizing right now a progressive movement in this country.

Question: The caucuses draw, you know, a couple of hundred thousand people. With all due respect to Iowa, just been [inaudible] the last few days, just to let you know.

Mayor: Good. Don’t get in trouble here.

Question: I guess my question is, if it has – if you believe it has a disproportionate effect? And a couple of hundred thousand people is maybe a neighborhood or two in Brooklyn.

Mayor: Look, I am – maybe it’s my ancestral roots, Tom.

Senator Harkin: Blanchard, Iowa speaking here.

Mayor:  Blanchard, Iowa – I – the experience I had here those two years really was powerful in the sense – I saw grassroots democracy. And that’s what’s good about the process here in Iowa. This is, I think, a great state to start the presidential season because I think the debate that happens here really talks about a cross section of the reality of this country. And look at this state. And again, this is one of the states – you could say, well, it’s in the Midwest. It’s not where most of the population is. It’s a small state, but look at the state. It’s been ahead of a lot of the country on progressive income tax. It’s been ahead of a lot of the country on marriage equality. This is a state with a lot of interesting blend of features that I think makes it a great first state. The caucuses are an extraordinary thing to be a part of. They remind me a bit – I also have some New England roots – of the New England town hall meeting in the sense of people participating very directly. I think there needs to be a greater effort to include more people. One thing I found being deeply involved in caucuses twice is that you want more people to participate. And I think that still has to be worked on.

Question: Did they make the right choices those years?

Mayor: Well, not according to my views in those years. You know, in 2004, I supported John Edwards, who I thought had a tremendously important message. He came very, very close in Iowa but did not prevail. But I think his message in the debate that happened in Iowa had a profound impact on the future of the debate in this country, and one we’re having today, and a certain [inaudible] of the party. In 2008, I supported Hillary Clinton and obviously she did not prevail. But again, I think the discourse that happened in Iowa had a very, very healthy impact on this country.

Question: Now that you’ve come to Iowa, where are you taking this progressive message next?

Mayor: Wisconsin! That was an easy question. That is Saturday. Next Saturday, thank you –next Saturday, so the 25th. I’ve been invited by the Wisconsin Democratic Party to address their annual dinner in Milwaukee. I’m really looking forward to that. Boy, talk about the front line. You may be the center of the universe, but they’re the front line of the battle.

Senator Harkin: You will love the people of Wisconsin. They are wonderful.

Mayor: They are wonderful. And talk about a progressive tradition – La Follette and everything else. So that’s an amazing state. So I’m really looking forward to that.

Question: Do you see yourself as somewhat of a leader on these issues – on progressive – I know you’d say it’s not really a progressive wing of the party but –

Mayor: Progressive majority of the party – we’ve got an expert here – progressive majority of the party.

Question: Do you see yourself as a national leader when it comes to this?

Senator Harkin: You can ask me that question. Yes.

Mayor: Because I’m not going to answer that question. I – this is my new press secretary, Tom Harkin.

Senator Harkin: Yes, I see him as one of our national leaders. No doubt about it. No doubt in my mind.

Question: Senator, can we get your views on Hillary Clinton and her bid so far for president, the style of the campaign she did this week in Iowa, the small events?

Senator Harkin: Well I think it was the right approach. I had dinner with her last night at my house. She came out. We had a small group – about nine people – just for dinner. And I think what she’s doing is absolutely correct. As I said earlier in the week, maybe I said it – this is not going to be any high-altitude bombing run. This is going to be on the ground, and it’s going to be up close and personal. And that’s what she’s doing. And she’s so good at that, I mean she is so good at that. I think a lot of her talents and her ability in that area what sort of – kind of wasted in ’08 because the campaign didn’t run that way. It’s going to be different this time and I think people will see a real genuine person here in Hillary Clinton. We had a nice evening last night. And by the way, she loves Bill de Blasio, I can tell you that.

Question: What did she say about the non-endorsement of Bill de Blasio? What did she say about that last night?

Senator Harkin: We didn’t talk about it –

Mayor: Remember, you’re the press secretary now.

[Laughter]

Senator Harkin: We just talked – I said I’m going to be with Bill de Blasio today – of New York. And she said, oh I love Bill de Blasio – ran my campaign for the senate, great guy, great mayor – so, very high on Bill.

Question: Did you advise Hillary at all on her Iowa strategy before the announcement? Did you have talks with her about how to approach the state?

Senator Hawkin: Well, off and on a little bit. We talked about it at the steak fry, but she hadn’t made up her mind at that time. But I’ve talked to President Clinton – Bill Clinton about it too. I think she’s doing it right. [Inaudible] smaller communities and not just in the larger sectors. So she’s going to put a full-force campaign here in the state of Iowa.