NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s suggestion to delay the 2020 presidential election is “the act of a tyrant,” Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters Thursday.
"He knows he's going to lose the election so he's calling for it to be postponed,” de Blasio said. "That's an assault on democracy and it will not stand."
De Blasio put the focus on national politics — the U.S. Senate’s inability to pass a stimulus bill before unemployment payments expire, the plummeting gross domestic product and Trump’s questionable suggestion — which he blamed for the challenges New York City faces.
“Look what we all have been put through,” de Blasio said. “We’re going to have to fight through everything that’s being thrown at us.”
The mayor told New Yorkers that lack of federal leadership was to blame for economic challenges plaguing the city, and championed his administration’s efforts to provide virtual job resources to 37,000 people.
De Blasio then fielded questions about a slew of local issues, from an endangered power supply in parts of Brooklyn, the problematic arrest of the protester thrown into an unmarked police van, and the "Black Lives Matter" mural painted outside Trump Tower, which rankled Republican Senators debating aid for New York City.
"It was exactly the right thing to do to paint that mural," de Blasio said. "That has nothing to do with the stimulus."
But even as the city faces extreme challenges, novel coronavirus tracking indicators remain steady with 87 new hospitalizations, 299 intensive care unit patients and a 2 percent positive testing rate, the mayor said.
He took a moment to thank New Yorkers for their efforts in curbing the spread.
“We’ve been through so much but we’ve never had so much happening simultaneously,” de Blasio said .
“I am absolutely convinced New York City always comes back because of New Yorkers.”