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Video: Bill De Blasio Tells Jon Stewart, 'I Don't Wear The Che Guevara T-Shirt At Work'
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 4, 2014
Modified Feb 4, 2014
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 4, 2014
Modified Feb 4, 2014
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Last night, Mayor Bill de Blasio headed to The Daily Show for his first sit-down with Jon Stewart, who immediately pointed out that it has snowed three times since de Blasio became mayor. "I remember Bloomberg," recalled Stewart. "12 years. It never snowed once." Referring to a certain snow nightmare of a 1% enclave, Stewart asked, "What else could we do to the Upper East Side?" To which de Blasio replied, "We have an experimental effort to get locusts in up there."
Stewart also presented him with a pepperoni pizza from John's. As is his wont, De Blasio then produced a knife and fork from his suit jacket. Stewart conceded that Bloomberg had his food chewed and fed back to him like a baby bird. There was also a super-sized soda to wash it all down.
Amidst the yuks, there was serious talk: Stewart asked, "How frightened are people when you walk in, because they must think now, you are coming in there and turning everything upside down, the uncertainty must be palpable." De Blasio joked, "I don’t wear the Che Guevara T-shirt at work." He added, "I’m blessed to have a very strong mandate from the people to make some real progressive change... This is all about acknowledging the inequalities that become very fundamental and unfortunately growing in our city... Yes, there are some bureaucrats and others who are hesitant. But I know that the popular support is there."
The end of the stop-and-frisk appeal was brought up by Stewart. De Blasio repeated Police Commissioner Bill Bratton's refrain, "You can’t break the law to enforce the law, as simple as that," and reminded the audience that young men of color—many innocent—were the ones being stopped. "I would argue that public safety and civil liberties have to march hand in hand," the mayor said. "You cannot separate or oppose the two. And in the stop and frisk era, we had two different forms of policing, that’s the reality, depending on the color of your skin."
De Blasio took the opportunity to promote his proposal to tax those making more than $500,000 to fund universal pre-K for all children, explaining why his plan differs from Cuomo (who says he'll fund it without a tax): "We need to know the money is there year after year."
Stewart pointed out he'd be paying the additional tax and asked, "Can I go to the Pre-K and be like, ‘You’re mine. And so you better those grades up. Because I’m on your ass.'" De Blasio was agreeable, "We’re going to create a program for you."
Some parts didn't make the aired show—here's part one and part two of the extended interview—but there were references to Bloomberg's "tiny, tiny shoes" and progressivism. Also, based on a photograph from the Mayor's Office, it looks like Stewart did not wear an afro while meeting Dante de Blasio.
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bill de blasio
che guevara
daily show
Jon Stewart
universal pre-K
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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