Bill’s got Barack’s back…kind of.
On a one-day trip to France today, Mayor Bill de Blasio passed on knocking President Barack Obama for skipping out on a major solidarity march in Paris or visiting the City of Light at all following terrorist attacks on a satirical magazine and kosher supermarket.
“The president spoke to that, and I want to remind people, the attorney general is here, the secretary of state was here, which is good,” Mr. de Blasio told reporters. “But I think it’s important for Americans of all backgrounds to show solidarity right now with the people of Paris.”
Mr. de Blasio announced yesterday a last-minute trip to Paris to visit the sites of the terrorist attacks. The mayor laid a wreath at the offices of Charlie Hebdo, the magazine where Islamist terrorists killed 11 employees and one police officer. Mr. de Blasio also laid a wreath at the kosher supermarket where assailants from the Charlie Hebdo siege killed four Jewish hostages.
Less than a week after the killings, millions of Parisians and world leaders marched through Paris. Mr. Obama and top White House officials skipped the anti-terrorism march, drawing international condemnation. The White House later apologized.
A trip to France for Mr. de Blasio may have been inevitable. The liberal mayor enjoys a close relationship with Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris and a member of the Socialist Party.
“I can say that New York City is in solidarity with Paris. We share so much. We share an extraordinary history–the people of France and the people of the United States, the people of Paris and the people of New York,” Mr. de Blasio said. “But we’re here in solidarity, because both our cities have experienced terror.”
