New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio most likely won't qualify to be on stage with other Democratic presidential candidates for the third Democratic debate, but he said Tuesday there are still plenty of ways to get Americans' attention, including through the use of social media.
"In America today in the age of social media, you can go from being obscure to famous in 48 to 72 hours," de Blasio told MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "At any moment, any idea might catch fire. At any moment, an authentic moment might take off and change the way people see you. Any world event might change the discussion."
He pointed out that there will be another chance to debate in October before any primary elections take place, but even if he doesn't, debates don't really "move much in terms of polls."
De Blasio said televised town halls, like the one he and fellow candidate, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock appeared in on CNN during the weekend, are also important, as are the major media appearances all candidates do.
"In this conversation already, I have had more time to talk to the American people more than I did in the first debate, literally," said de Blasio. "It was five-and-a-half minutes total for me."
Nonetheless, de Blasio said he'll fight hard to get into the October debate, as that is a "crucial opportunity," but nobody should count out any candidate who has serious qualifications.
"The Democratic Party did things I agree with and things I disagree with in terms of structuring the debates," said de Blasio. "One thing that's progress is the notion that small donors, even giving $1, help to determine who gets on the stage...the reformers in the party fought for it to be not about how much you raise from high donors or the early polling which you know early polling is often not instructive, not accurate. But bringing the grassroots element is helpful."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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