Bill de Blasio's presidential ambitions are inspiring late-night comedians (namely Stephen Colbert, who put him to the fire for appearing to flap his arms to the-now controversial R. Kelly ballad "I Believe I Can Fly").
But none of that has dissuaded the mayor.
De Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray are slated to depart for the Granite State on Saturday. They will visit Manchester and the birthplace of McCray's mother in Claremont.
While there, de Blasio will sit down with the chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, Ray Buckley.
"He's going to hang out with Mayor Joyce Craig, our fabulous mayor in the city of Manchester, then do some stuff with young Democrats, then go up to Claremont and go around the state for the rest of the day on Sunday," Buckley said Wednesday afternoon about the mayor's agenda.
Buckley, of course, is already being courted by a number of candidates. He says he has met with all of them.
"There is a path forward for any of the folks' campaign in Iowa, New Hampshire, and the other early states," Buckley explained. "We got a year while that all works out. After the election of Donald Trump, anyone in America can look in the mirror and say, 'I can be president too.'"
De Blasio and McCray are also slated to host a roundtable discussion on opioids Sunday in Claremont. The town's mayor told NY1 that at least a dozen people will participate.
This will be the third trip to a state with an early nominating contest in the past month. De Blasio visited Iowa in February and South Carolina last weekend.
Is this all a distraction from his day job? The mayor says no.
"On the question of serving this city, this is what I came here to do," he said Wednesday morning on FOX 5 NY. "Whatever I do, I am going to do it with full consideration of what has to get done in this city."
De Blasio said Wednesday morning even if he were to officially throw his hat in the ring, he would still be able to manage the city.
"There are a lot of people out there over the years who have to make a decision on whether to run for another office. This is not the first time this has happened," the mayor said. "You have to believe that the things you have to get done are going to happen."
The mayor has not said exactly when he will make a decision about 2020, but it could be in a matter of weeks.