New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announces 2020 Presidential Bid

Bill de Blasio

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio entered the 2020 Democratic presidential primary Thursday morning, casting himself as the most accomplished progressive pick in a field of 23 candidates vying for a chance to challenge President Donald Trump next year.

In his announcement video, de Blasio took aim at Trump, calling him a "bully," then in an interview on ABC later in the morning said the President is "playing a big con on America."

"Every New Yorker knows, he's a con artist," de Blasio said. "We know his tricks, we know his playbook."

The mayor also touted a slate of policy wins, including universal Pre-K and his successful push for a $15 minimum wage.

 "I know we can do it," he said, "because I've done it here in the largest, toughest city in this country."

De Blasio will hit the trail later Thursday, visiting Iowa before heading to South Carolina for events this weekend. The two-term mayor, who in 2017 became the first Democrat re-elected to his office in more than three decades, joins the race after months of deliberations and a handful of visits to early-voting states.

Even before he made his plans official, de Blasio has come under fire and some mockery  from the city's unrelenting press corps, a group he's clashed with repeatedly over the years and which openly delights in the mayor's every misstep or misfortune. Still, his national profile is less defined, and de Blasio, as he introduces himself to Democrats outside New York, is expected to sell a record of progressive policy wins -- bolstered by a racially diverse coalition of support -- in a city with more residents than the home states of some of his rivals.

The questions dogging de Blasio, which tend to boil down to a simple "Why?," will be familiar to him. His first campaign for mayor was greeted with similar skepticism and doubt, if not the hostility and contempt generated by his presidential ambitions. A recent poll of New Yorkers found 76% of them did not think he should run. 

Whether de Blasio can transform those perceptions on the national stage where he's already been roasted by The Onion, which joked in a headline last week, "De Blasio PAC Spends $30 Million On Ads Urging Candidate Not To Embarrass Self By Running"  will be his first test.