Mayor Bill de Blasio got a national platform to talk to voters Sunday night during his own CNN town hall.
He managed to touch on most of his compaign themes during the hour-long event, but he was also heckled by a protester in what has become a recurring event of his campaign.
If his goal was to squeeze in all his talking points, Mayor de Blasio's town hall was a success. Three minutes in, he delivered his catchphrase.
"There's plenty of money in this country, it's just in the wrong hands," De Blasio said.
An NYPD officer's question related to police suicides led to a discussion of mental health issues, another de Blasio priority. Then came the Eric Garner question. De Blasio touted police reforms like implicit bias training and body cameras.
Ana Cabrera: Why did it take five years?
Mayor de Blasio: A lot has changed here, and it has to change everywhere. And it actually has to be a federal imperative.
After being targeted by protesters at last month's primary debate, de Blasio was likely hoping to turn the page with Officer Daniel Pantaleo's firing last week. Instead a protester Sunday shouted the names of other officers involved in the Garner case.
Other audience members were more helpful. One questioner gave de Blasio an opening to talk about first lady Chirlane McCray and race relations.
"We had white supremacy before. But it's been put on a pedestal by Donald Trump," De Blasio said.
And questions about health care allowed him to highlight how the city provides care to the uninsured, including undocumented immigrants.
"Why do I think it's important to give health care to human beings who are part of our communities? Because they're human beings! They will seek health care. Where? What we talked about before -- in the emergency room, and guess who's going to pay for it anyway? All of us," De Blasio said.
And asked how to pay for universal coverage, de Blasio pivoted to his signature issue: taxing the wealthy.
"The wealthy in this country for 40 years, the rich have gotten richer, and paid less and less in taxes. It's time. And I have the most aggressive tax plan of any Democrat," De Blasio said.
No matter how the town hall was received, de Blasio will almost certainly be shut out of next month's primary debate. He appears to be nowhere near meeting the qualifying criteria, which include 130,000 donors and reaching two percent in at least four polls.
The mayor hasn't hit two percent in any.