It May Not Look Like It, But Mike Bloomberg Is Owning Bill de Blasio Tonight

PHILADELPHIA — Bill de Blasio, the current mayor of New York City, just spoke to Democratic National Convention delegates at the Wells Fargo Center about the merits of Hillary Clinton and the evils of Donald Trump. He spoke at around 5:30 p.m., when many TV viewers are still working or on the way home, and there were noticeable holes in the arena crowd.

Michael Bloomberg, the previous mayor of New York City, will also speak to Democratic National Convention delegates at the Wells Fargo Center about the merits of Hillary Clinton and the evils of Donald Trump this evening. Bloomberg will speak sometime before 10 p.m., during the prime-time telecast, and the crowd will likely pay close attention.

Bill de Blasio is a Democrat, the first member of Hillary Clinton’s party to hold the New York mayoralty since 1993. Michael Bloomberg is an independent, and he first ran for mayor as a Republican.

Bill de Blasio’s campaign for mayor largely focused on the ways in which he was different from Michael Bloomberg on issues like policing and corporate influence in the city. Last year, Bloomberg spent a good chunk of a speech at a charity dinner lightheartedly owning his successor on issues like his celebrity status and his feud with Governor Andrew Cuomo. The relationship between the two men has gotten better since de Blasio’s inauguration in 2014, but they’re not exactly good buddies. I wonder how de Blasio and Bloomberg feel about the scheduling of tonight’s remarks.