Bill de Blasio (the candidate) proves picky with his Twitter feed

August 6, 2019 Noah Goldberg

Mayor Bill de Blasio. AP Photo/Julio Cortez

Share this:

Mayor Bill de Blasio followed four new people from his presidential candidate Twitter since last Wednesday: Woody Guthrie, Jimi Hendrix, Fela Kuti and Billy Bragg. He likes music.

The new additions bring the mayor-turned-presidential-candidate’s total following up to 23 whole individuals and groups — one more than Joe Biden follows, a bunch less than all the other candidates they debated against last week, and possibly more than the number of people in New York City who support the mayor’s long shot bid.

The list, which will “continue to grow,” (unlike de Blasio’s polling numbers) is picked based on the mayor’s interests, a spokesperson for the de Blasio campaign told the Brooklyn Eagle. De Blasio the candidate, it turns out, is much more exacting than de Blasio the mayor when it comes to “throwing the follow.” His mayoral account follows over 1,300 people. (This reporter did not make that list.)

De Blasio, who stood and held his hand to his heart during the national anthem at the second debate last week — before taking heat from other candidates and protestors for not firing the officer accused of killing Eric Garner — follows athletes Megan Rapinoe and Colin Kaepernick on Twitter, both of whom famously took a knee during the national anthem to protest police brutality and oppression against minorities. He also follows Serena Williams, who, you know, agrees with them.

Within the realm of sports, the mayor also confusingly follows both the Red Sox — a painful reminder of his Boston allegiance — and his hometown Brooklyn Nets. (Apparently the storied Celtics don’t match the boys at Barclays.)

Today’s Playlist: Rudie Can’t Fail by the Clash, Is This Love by Bob Marley & The Wailers, Mirror in the Bathroom by the Beat 🤘 https://t.co/NUeSfRm9GC

— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) May 21, 2019

But mostly, the here-today-gone-to-Iowa-tomorrow mayor follows artists. Whether it’s the Simpsons, Issa Rae of “Insecure,” “Selma” director Ava Duvernay — who most recently made a mini-series about the Central Park Five case — the Clash or Bob Marley, Bill de Blasio proves he’s just your average New Yorker with your average tastes.

And he follows Chirlane and Dante, too.