New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg blasts rival for 'racist' campaign
In an interview with New York magazine on Saturday, Bloomberg said he considered it racist of de Blasio to promote his mixed-race family. De Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray, is black and their teenage son, Dante, appears in his father's campaign adverts.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in an interview that Bill de Blasio, one of the leading candidates to succeed him, had run a racist campaign.
In an interview with New York magazine on Saturday, Bloomberg said he considered it racist of de Blasio to promote his mixed-race family. De Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray, is black and their teenage son, Dante, appears in his father's campaign adverts.
Bloomberg added that he did not think de Blasio was a racist. But he said, "It's comparable to me pointing out that I'm Jewish in attracting the Jewish vote."
At an appearance in Brooklyn on Saturday with his wife and daughter, Chiara, 18, de Blasio called Bloomberg's remarks "very, very unfortunate and inappropriate".
"I'm exceedingly proud of my family," he added. "I hope the mayor will reconsider what he said. I hope he realises it was inappropriate."
In her response to the mayor's comments about her husband's campaign, McCray said: "Do I look like an inanimate object? Or a tool? I walk, I talk and make my own decisions."