In a rare moment of bipartisan agreement, former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio admitted to Sean Hannity that he disagrees with the Democratic Party on key issues.
De Blasio gave the blunt assessment on Thursday’s episode of the “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” podcast. He also said his party “rightfully” deserves the criticism it has faced over the Biden administration’s handling of the southern border.
“In retrospect, the whole concept of ‘defund the police’ made no sense. It made sense to say, how can we do better?” de Blasio said.
In 2020, de Blasio pledged to cut the New York Police Department’s budget by $1 billion following citywide protests. The funds were instead shifted to other agencies focused on youth centers and public housing.
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The former mayor noted that police leaders told him more should be done to give young people positive alternatives, calling it “good for safety” in communities.
Hannity responded with surprise to the admission, saying, “We’re not disagreeing, right? This is amazing.”
“We’re doing good,” de Blasio said, adding, “So ‘defund’ was a mistake. And I understand where it came from, but it was a mistake.”
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On the border, de Blasio also agreed with Hannity. The former mayor called it “common ground,” saying the Biden administration could have handled the surge at the southern border better.
“I don’t like what Biden did with the border,” de Blasio said.
When pressed on why he never spoke up earlier, he noted that at the time, he didn’t realize the problem was as bad as it was. De Blasio said he reached that conclusion after President Joe Biden moved to tighten border policies later in his presidency.
“When I saw it during Biden’s time, that he was able to reverse course in that final year and tighten up the border — no, I mean, that’s the irony,” said de Blasio, who added that something had “changed” in the administration.
“We, as Democrats, rightfully deserve that critique,” he added.
In 2014, de Blasio significantly strengthened New York City’s sanctuary city status. He signed legislation to prohibit the NYPD and Department of Corrections from honoring detainer requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unless they had a judicial warrant from a federal judge.
Even with a warrant, they would only cooperate if the individual was convicted of a violent crime or serious felony. He also ended ICE’s permanent office at the Rikers Island jail complex.
“Hang Out with Sean Hannity” launched this month on YouTube and Spotify, featuring interviews with Stephen A. Smith, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and NHL star Matthew Tkachuk.
