In a recent candid interview, former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio revisited the infamous 2014 Groundhog Day incident, expressing regret and irritation over the situation. He recounted the event, stating he felt unprepared and questioned the wisdom of having an elected official handle the animal. The groundhog, Charlotte, unfortunately died a week later from internal injuries sustained after falling from de Blasio's grasp, an incident the Staten Island Zoo was accused of trying to conceal.
Beyond the groundhog incident, de Blasio addressed criticisms of his handling of Black Lives Matter protests following George Floyd's death. He defended his actions, citing the "real danger on all sides" and the "organized violence" directed at police officers, which he characterized as unprecedented and challenging to manage. While acknowledging some officers acted inappropriately towards protestors, he emphasized that this was a minority and maintained that the majority of both protestors and police behaved peacefully.
De Blasio also discussed the migration of residents from cities like New York and San Francisco to locations like Miami and Austin. Dismissing concerns about an exodus of talent, he cited statistics indicating New York had gained thousands of millionaires. He further predicted a reversal of the trend in Florida, attributing it to the potentially unsustainable environment created by Governor Ron DeSantis' policies.
