On Wednesday, CBS This Morning hosted New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio for an exclusive interview at the top of One World Trade Center’s new observation desk and gave the far-left mayor an unchallenged platform to promote his liberal agenda.
Co-host Charlie Rose introduced DeBlasio as one of the “leaders of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party” before he fretted whether or not the liberal mayor “believe[s] that Secretary Clinton is moving left towards where you and Elizabeth Warren are?”
Rose then allowed DeBlasio to go on a lengthy monologue where he pushed his liberal agenda onto the CBS audience and afterwards, co-host Gayle King eagerly wondered “what will it take for you to endorse” Hillary Clinton:
You know, many people in the Clinton camp say they have felt bruised and betrayed that you haven't endorsed her so far since you had worked so closely with her. Should they feel that way?
Nowhere in the interview did the three CBS hosts suggest that DeBlasio’s demands for a higher minimum wage or “progressive taxation” would harm the economy or that he was too far left for the country.
Instead, Charlie Rose asked DeBlasio if "$15 an hour is an appropriate minimum wage?" which provided the New York with yet another opportunity to push his liberal agenda to several million CBS This Morning viewers free of charge.
While CBS was quick to tout Bill DeBlasio’s “progressive” beliefs on Wednesday, in the past the network has proven to be fairly critical of the far-left mayor. On February 21, 2014 CBS This Morning was the only network morning show to hit DeBlasio for reckless speeding after lecturing New Yorkers about the importance of safe driving. A month later, on March 4, CBS was once again the only “Big Three” network to expose the “outrage” over DeBlasio’s “attack” on charter schools.
See relevant transcript below.
CBS This Morning
May 20, 2015
CHARLIE ROSE: A lot of people look at you and Elizabeth Warren as leaders of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Do you believe that Secretary Clinton is moving left towards where you and Elizabeth Warren are?
BILL DEBLASIO: First of all I'm very optimistic that she's going to address the issues that a lot of us need to hear. Meaning, I think the challenges this time in our history is income inequality. I think this country is truly in danger if we don't find a way to uplift working people and get people to a decent standard of living again. We have the worst income disparity since the Great Depression and unfortunately it's worsening all the time.
So I think the things we need to hear about, progressive taxation, raising wages and benefits. And I credit our friends in L.A. for the action they took. Things that will help working families get by. Paid family leave, paid sick leave, the basics that so many other countries have. We need to hear more about that--
ROSE: From her.
DEBLASIO: From her and from all candidates honestly, but I'm optimistic.
GAYLE KING: But what will it take for you to endorse her. You know, many people in the Clinton camp say they have felt bruised and betrayed that you haven't endorsed her so far since you had worked so closely with her. Should they feel that way?
DEBLASIO: No they shouldn’t. I think the world of her. And I think actually her history is a very progressive. One. I particularly point to 1993 when she took on the insurance companies to try and achieve health care reform way ahead of when it was actually finally done. I think she has a very strong progressive history. I think she's one of the most qualified people ever to ever run for the office but I think it's absolutely normal to want to hear a vision for how to address what I think is essential—
ROSE: But you haven’t heard that yet?
DEBLASIO: No. And it's early. I was impressed by some of the things she said in Iowa. I was certainly impressed by her speeches on criminal justice reform and on immigration reform. But I think it is normal. By the way, I would say this about any candidate. In this time we're in, we actually need to hear a specific vision for change. And by the way, one of the things the Republican candidates are talking about income inequality, which I appreciate.
We're going to hold, a group of us progressives, we're going to hold a presidential forum in the fall asking candidates of both parties to come together and actually provide a sense of solutions on income inequality. Mouthing the words is good, but we have to talk about real solutions. I think progressive taxation, things like the Buffet rule are one of the necessary components for the change and I think we should hear that from all candidates.
ROSE: $15 an hour is an appropriate minimum wage?
NORAH O’DONNELL: As L.A. just did.
DEBLASIO: Yes. Think about it this way. We, I think, all used to think minimum wage meant a wage you could live on. Now, today in New York City and many other parts of the country, a wage level under $9 an hour as a minimum, no one actually thinks a family could live on that with one breadwinner. Even with two they would be struggling.
That's why when you think about $15 for a lot of parts of the country it is an organic minimum, and a minimum. We’d like to see a lot of people do better. But what I think is happening is there's been a grassroots effort to demand that we re-conceptualize what minimum wage is and actually think about the costs that families face today. And I think that effort has lead a lot of governments and a lot of private companies to change their policies.
