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De Blasio Reports 'Substantive, Give And Take' Meeting With President-Elect Trump
By
David Colon
Published Nov 16, 2016
Modified Nov 16, 2016
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David Colon/Gothamist
By
David Colon
Published Nov 16, 2016
Modified Nov 16, 2016
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Mayor de Blasio met with President-elect Donald Trump this morning, in an hour-long meeting at Trump Tower that the mayor characterized as "substantive," "candid" and a "give and take" with the incoming president.
The mayor said that the purpose of his meeting with the President-elect, which lasted 62 minutes, was "for me to assert to him the concerns and the needs of all New Yorkers." Mayor de Blasio said he wouldn't reveal what Trump said during their discussion, but he told the press assembled in front of Trump Tower that he discussed a number of "substantive" issues including the regulation of Wall Street, the President-elect's tax policy, and how a Trump administration will treat immigrants and Muslims.
"I thought it was very important as the President-elect begins his transition, to hear the voices of the people and to hear thoughts from outside the transition bubble," de Blasio said.
Speaking about Wall Street and taxation, the mayor said he told the President-elect that he had concerns that his tax policies focusing on cuts to the richest Americans and corporations could "make impossible many of the changes we need in our country, particularly the investments we so desperately need in infrastructure in New York City and communities across the country." Both Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo have expressed interest in working with Trump on infrastructure improvement in the city and state.
The mayor said he told Trump that his proposed deportations would "create a rift" between police and communities, and "flew in the face of all that is great in New York City, a city of immigrants, a place that has succeeded because it's been open for everyone and has built generation after generation of immigrants." De Blasio also said he told Trump that New York and other cities "will do everything they can" to protect their residents and keep families from being split up because of immigration policy.
The mayor didn't say what the future plans are for NYC ID data, and also told reporters that he would have a press conference more focused on the problem of traffic around Trump Tower on Friday. "I won't tell you Gucci and Tiffany are my central concerns in life, but I will say the traffic situation is a very real problem and it is magnified," the mayor said, "of course, because we’re going into the holidays."
De Blasio said that he also expressed his concerns regarding the hiring of Breitbart CEO and alleged white nationalist Steve Bannon as Trump's chief strategist. "I made my views clear and my deep concerns...the fact that I thought many people were afraid because of the things they had seen in Breitbart news and the fear they had that that suggested divisive policies."
"I reiterated to the President-elect that I would be open minded as we continue substantive discussions, but I would also be vigilant," de Blasio said summing up the meeting. "And I would be swift to react anytime an action is taken that will undermine the people of New York City."
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