Mayor de Blasio’s fake New York Post front page on Twitter was a petty attack on a newspaper that has exposed serious issues — and it proves he’s “extremely thin-skinned and doesn’t have the temperament to run the city,” a top political strategist said Thursday.
“This type of deflection is not only in poor taste, it’s bad politics,” said crisis-communications consultant Susan Del Percio, who suggested de Blasio “stop worrying about his bad press and worry about running the city.”
“You can’t laugh off certain things, and he’s trying to make a joke about something people are very concerned about,” she said.
De Blasio tweeted his mock Post Page One on Wednesday night, hours after the NYPD released favorable crime stats.
“SAFEST SUMMER IN 20 YEARS But We Still Hate de Blasio,” read the fake page’s headline, printed under a photo of Hizzoner and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton.
Although he clearly meant to skewer The Post, all de Blasio did was diminish major issues that affect his constituents, experts said.
“The Post’s stories on homelessness and crime are legitimate. They’re based on fact, and they’re issues New Yorkers care about,” said political strategist O’Brien Murray.
“De Blasio should just ask former Mayor [David] Dinkins, who he used to work for, how important the crime issue is,” Murray added, alluding to the ex-mayor’s ouster by voters outraged over his handling of public safety.
Murray said de Blasio should have learned his lesson about starting fights.
“You don’t pick a fight you can’t win. He picked a fight with Governor Cuomo and lost. Now he picks a fight with a newspaper — he can’t win,” Del Percio said.
She added that such jokes are better told behind closed doors.
“That’s not how a leader acts. If he wants to joke about it in his inner circle, that’s fine, but to do it in front of millions of New Yorkers is insulting and politically unwise,” she said.
“It shows what many people have said off the record and in private: He is extremely thin-skinned and doesn’t have the temperament to run the city.”
Consultant Hank Sheinkopf called the tweet “a direct challenge to a newspaper, and when you do that, you lose.”
“The mayor is allowing his agenda to be defined by the press. That’s not good,” Sheinkopf said.
“Politicians should be avoiding direct conflict with the media. You’ll never win that battle.”
De Blasio’s administration didn’t seem to agree with the assessment of their faux Post.
“We are thrilled with the many positive responses the tweet received,” a City Hall rep said.
But p.r. guru George Arzt, a former Post reporter and press secretary for Mayor Ed Koch, cited an old adage: Never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel.
He also said de Blasio’s lame attempt at humor “shows that The Post is getting under his skin.”
And while lashing out at the paper may play well “with the left wing,” it could backfire on de Blasio if he keeps it up, Arzt said.
“I don’t think its ever a good idea to take on a media outlet,” he added.
“In the long run, you don’t want an ongoing war with a newspaper, even if you perceive it to be hostile to your administration.”
Richard Flanagan, a political-science professor at the College of Staten Island, said the tweet was bad for de Blasio’s image.
He was stunned by the mayor’s sensitivity to criticism.
“This is New York politics and New York journalism going back to the Lindsay administration,” Flanagan said.
“What did he expect? He was on the council for years. This is the way it works.”
Additional reporting by Bruce Golding and Yoav Gonen