Liberal New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio sat down for a friendly interview on Thursday’s CBS This Morning and the three hosts repeatedly pushed him from the left on a variety of issues ranging from his fight with Uber to his relationship with Pope Francis on climate change and income inequality.
The majority of the interview focused on de Blasio’s ongoing fight with ride sharing company Uber, and his efforts to regulate it like taxis and CBS’s Charlie Rose complained ”it seems like Uber whenever it's challenged simply gets its way in the end.”
After the New York major whined that Uber was allegedly contributing to congestion and pollution throughout the city which, in his view, demanded the city regulate the company, Norah O’Donnell wondered “why did you cave?” and allow Uber to expand.
Later in the segment, Rose touted de Blasio’s recent meeting with Pope Francis where the two discussed climate change and rather than press his guest on the liberal views the two share the CBS host merely asked de Blasio to “ [t]ell us about” the meeting.
After de Blasio called Pope Francis the “strongest moral voice in the world” Rose eagerly wondered “what is his impact on climate change?” and gave the New York City mayor another opportunity to tout his liberal views.Rose then pointed out how the pope “raised questions about income inequality...And, in fact, about capitalism per se.”
Nowhere in the segment did Rose or his CBS co-hosts bother to press de Blasio on his liberal views regarding climate change or “income inequality” and whether not his solutions would damage the economy. Instead, Rose wondered how the mayor could push Hillary Clinton far enough to the left in order to earn his endorsement:
So what does Hillary Clinton have to do to convince you to support her because that’s been one of the issue you say you’re waiting and seeing?
De Blasio stressed the need for liberal cities to provide mandatory paid sick leave and an raise their minimum wages which Rose found the perfect time to ask yet another lefty question: “Will there be $15 minimum wage in New York?”
The New York mayor argued that he was “working toward” a $15 minimum wage which prompted Norah O’Donnell to wonder “why not endorse Bernie Sanders?”
In the past, CBS This Morning has done its best to help tout the liberal agenda of de Blasio. During an appearance on May 20, the three hosts gave him an unchallenged platform as Charlie Rose declared him one of the “leaders of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.”
See relevant transcript below.
CBS This Morning
July 23, 2015
GAYLE KING: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is here in Studio 57. He's trying to clear the air this morning around the world and in his own backyard. His administration struck a surprise deal yesterday with Uber. The major has been locked in a fight with the on-demand car service and this agreement delays a cap on the number of vehicles that Uber can operate. Mayor de Blasio is also concerned about the added congestion here in the city. So under this new agreement New York will study the traffic impact of Uber. The company will share more information about the location and the length of the trips.
CHARLIE ROSE: Word of that breakthrough came as de Blasio returned from the Vatican. On that trip he spoke about fighting climate change at a conference of mayors. He also attended an audience with Pope Francis. Mr. Mayor, good morning.
BILL DE BLASIO: Good morning.
ROSE: So we want to talk about your feud with Uber, your feud with the mayor, I mean with the governor, and also your feud with Hillary Clinton?
DE BLASIO: How about we should talk about my alliance with the pope.
ROSE: I’ll promise to get to that. So lay out for us what happened with Uber. You made a deal with them. They’re going to be a presence here in this city?
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ROSE: But it seems like Uber whenever it's challenged simply gets its way in the end.
DE BLASIO: Well, I talked to a number of mayors from around the country, around the world while I was in Rome on this very topic and I think there's a resolute feeling among mayors all over this country and this world that no private company gets to dictate the rules to government. We have the public’s interest in mind and so we’re going to strike that balance. What’s good about this understanding is it’s going to allow us to study the situation with some real limits in place and we don't take any option off the table. If we ultimately believe there needs to be a cap or some kind of additional regulation, we’ll do that. But for now we have a chance to study and see what the real impact of this growing industry is on our city.
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O’DONNELL: So why did you cave?
DE BLASIO: Well we haven’t. What we’ve said is here’s a limit that they’ve agreed to for a period of time so we can study for four months. At the end of four months we retain all options. If we decide we need a cap we’ll go in that direction. If we need a different approach that’s fine. But I'm fine with a four-month period of study and Uber now has to give us the information we need which they previously had not given us as part of this understanding.
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ROSE: Let me talk about your visit with the pope. First of all you had an audience with him.
DE BLASIO: Yes.
ROSE: Tell us about it.
DE BLASIO: He is, I think, the strongest moral voice in the world today and I think he's a figure who's changing the international debate more powerfully I think than I’ve seen any individual do in many, many years.
ROSE: Any religious leader?
DE BLASIO: Well, any religious leader, any leader beyond that.
ROSE: So what is his impact on climate change?
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ROSE: He has also raised questions about income inequality-DE BLASIO: He has.
ROSE: And, in fact, about capitalism per se.
DE BLASIO: Yes, and they’re questions that have to be asked. And you see today in the debate in this country the same questions coming up. The question of income inequality which a lot of people doubted was on the front of the minds of voters until CBS News, thank you very much, did a poll literally weeks ago that proved income inequality is one of the pervasive issues of this election cycle.
ROSE: So what does Hillary Clinton have to do to convince you to support her because that’s been one of the issue you say you’re waiting and seeing?
DE BLASIO: Look, two points. One, people all over the country are talking about income inequality and there's a gathering of coalition leaders who want to see these issues addressed. We have put together an agenda called the Progressive Agenda, you can find the details at ProgressiveAgenda.us that says very clearly we have to raise wages and benefits. We have to move in the direction of Progressive taxation. We need things like paid family leave and paid sick leave all over the country. It's happening locally. Los Angeles County just days ago voted for a minimum wage increase. Kansas City, St. Louis are moving on minimum wage. Oregon just passed statewide paid sick leave.
ROSE: Will there be $15 minimum wage in New York?
O’DONNELL So, It sounds like you're more in line –
DE BLASIO: I'm working toward it every day but we need the state to join us.
O’DONNELL: So why not endorse Bernie Sanders?
DE BLASIO: Here's the deal. Hillary Clinton, I think, is putting forward a lot of the right ideas and I’m very impressed. Her last speech on the economy was very, very strong. So I'm optimistic about the direction she's going in. I think a lot of Progressives want to see some more of the blanks filled in and we want to see a lot of the detail that’s actually going to get us to these policy changes. So, I'm optimistic about where she's doing but I think this is such an urgent need right now to address the problem of income inequality we have to be convinced that there's a specific plan to get us there.
