With the Big Apple now the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday that critics should not be “focusing” on “anything looking back on any level of government right now” — including his previous statements urging his constituents to go about their lives and not worry about the virus.
On Jan. 24, de Blasio said New Yorkers should “continue living as you have”; on Feb. 14 he said, “this should not stop you from going about your life … from going out to Chinatown and going out to eat”; and on March 13, he reiterated “we wanted people to go on about their lives.”
In an especially ill-advised March 2 tweet, de Blasio wrote: “Since I’m encouraging New Yorkers to go on with your lives + get out on the town despite Coronavirus, I thought I would offer some suggestions. Here’s the first: thru Thurs 3/5 go see “The Traitor” @FilmLinc. If “The Wire” was a true story + set in Italy, it would be this film.”
For weeks, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio urged New Yorkers to “go about their lives.” About his past comments, de Blasio now says “we should not be focusing, in my view, on anything looking back on any level of government right now” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/7fZZOHoPBS
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 29, 2020
The Trump administration restricted travel from China on Jan. 31 in response to the mounting coronavirus threat — a move many Democrats and media outlets characterized as irresponsible and unnecessary.
Confronted with his previous soundbites on CNN’s “State of the Union,” de Blasio initially downplayed the comments before ultimately acknowledging that the questions were “fair.”
“This is just about how we save lives going forward. Everyone was working with the information we had, and trying of course to avoid panic,” de Blasio began. “The bottom line is none of us have time to look backwards. I’m trying to figure out how we get through next Sunday, and what we do the week after that.” – READ MORE
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