De Blasio: Hillary ‘Clearly Was Presidential’ Last Night in the CNN Townhall

BARNICLE: “So what you’re saying, in essence, is that this is a fight Bernie Sanders versus Hillary Clinton between the head and the heart — that Bernie Sanders is the heart, the emotion, Hillary Clinton is saying, he’s got the emotion, I can do it. I can get it done.”
DE BLASIO: “I think it’s even more than that. It’s — the question is, for someone struggling in this country, and that’s tens of millions of people trying to make ends meet, that’s people who used to think they were middle class and now have seen their earning power decline and decline. They need someone who can actually fix the problem, that’s the bottom line. And by the way, the American people are very practical. They see a system that’s absolutely unequal, they see more and more wealth and power concentrated at the top. They need that change fundamentally. They need someone who actually knows how to achieve the change. And you saw last night Hillary clearly not only seemed presidential. The breadth of the experience and understanding was presidential.” BARNICLE: “Has the definition of the middle class changed in your mind over the last ten, fifteen years?”
DE BLASIO: “There’s no question that for people who thought they were thought they were solidly middle class 15 years ago, 20 years ago they feel economically insecure — many more feel economically insecure. Most simple measure of the American dream, that your children will do better than you. We all know many, many people who now fear their children will in fact do worse than them. That has to change and it has to change starting in the White House. And I bluntly believe Hillary is the only person who will know how to create that change practically speaking.”
BRZEZINSKI: “So, I have heard this a few times, she can fix the problem. What — I think Bernie Sanders has the same, why can’t he fix the problem?”
DE BLASIO: “I have a lot of respect for Bernie. And I think he’s —”
BRZEZINSKI: “I don’t understand what makes her — differentiates her from him.”
DE BLASIO: “Bernie’s done a service to this nation by raising these issues very powerfully. Hillary Clinton has done a service to the nation for decades at the highest level achieving some of the things we care about. The health insurance fight set the stage for what President Obama was able to achieve. Family and medical leave changed the entire concept. The fact that we’re doing paid parental leave in New York City today is directly related to the fact that Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton did family medical leave while they were in office. One act of progress breeds the next. And the fact that she understands how to work with the Congress. The fact that she understands how to actually get things done in the executive branch. She has lived it, no one can’t out that.  Means she is the best suited to hit the ground running, and address income inequality and actually make the practical changes that middle class and working Americans need.”
GEIST: “[indecipherable] real quick, I will — do want to ask you though. Don’t you feel like, as you look at the issues, as a pure progressive, you line up better with Bernie Sanders than you do with Hillary Clinton? I mean, you’ve been held up as a model of progressivism.”
DE BLASIO: “Oh, I thank you, sir.” (Laughter)
GEIST: “On the municipal level and Bernie Sanders on the national level.”
SCARBOROUGH: “By the way, you can say yes to this answer because we all know it’s true.”
DE BLASIO: “Look, Bernie, I give him a lot of credit for the things he’s raised and the way he’s raised him. Hillary Clinton’s vision, her platform, is exactly what I want to see in the White House. She’ll know how to get it done. And that’s what we need. I care deeply about the debate, but I care more about the results for working people.”