New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders claim that Hillary Clinton isn’t qualified to be president “is not the right way to go.”
“As his fellow progressive, this is not the right way to go. Hillary Clinton is eminently qualified to be president of the United States. By the way, Bernie Sanders is qualified to be president of the United States, too,” De Blasio said on CNN’s “At This Hour with Berman and Bolduan.”
Sanders stood by his criticism that Clinton isn’t “qualified” to be president Thursday during a news conference in Philadelphia.
“They’re going to question my qualifications. Well, I’m going to question theirs,” Sanders said, referencing comments Clinton made to MSNBC on Wednesday, saying Sanders hadn’t “done his homework” before meeting with the New York Daily News for an interview.
“Hillary never said he was not qualified. She said very squarely today that either one of them would be better than the Republican candidates,” said De Blasio, who has endorsed Clinton. “They’re clearly both qualified.”
De Blasio, a frequent critic of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, also said conservative New Yorkers will likely reject the candidate after he dismissed “New York values.”
“You can’t insult the people of New York who fought their way after the tragedy of 9/11 back to strength and expect people to ignore it,” he said. “And Ted Cruz insulted the people of New York when it was politically convenient earlier in the primary season. Ted Cruz thinks he’s smart but the people of New York City are going to see through him.”