The grim prospect of Gov. Bill de Blasio

During the presidential election, there was a lot of talk about unifying the country. Seven months later and the restoration of norms and return of civility remain on hold. Bringing people together in today’s polarized world is a tough task. It requires a certain je ne sais quoi.

However, certain rare politicians can bridge the partisan divide. One such statesman is Warren Wilhelm Jr, who trades under the stage name Bill de Blasio.

Through his abysmal governing of New York City over the past eight years, the New York mayor has managed to unite Democrats and Republicans alike. As Michael Scott noted in The Office, ‘Sometimes what brings the kids together is hating the lunch lady.’ Though he is a seasoned punching bag, Bill is supposedly considering his next act of his political life: a run for New York governor.

In a recent appearance on Morning Joe on MSNBC, de Blasio confirmed the tabloid speculation that he isn’t ruling out a run for governor next year.

‘I want to keep serving in one way or another in the future,’ he intoned with a straight face, ‘so I’m going to look at different options. Absolutely.’

BdB is no stranger to disdain from residents of the Big Apple, whatever their political leanings. His critics have had plenty of legitimate reasons for criticizing Hizzoner, but perhaps the most amusing is de Blasio’s indulgent personal habits.

He has failed on crime, on schools, on public transportation. He is habitually late for almost all public appearances.

On Groundhog Day 2014 he even carelessly dropped the furry Staten Island Chuck to the ground, and the borough’s beloved mascot rodent soon passed on from this mortal plane. The mayor has since been persona non grata at the annual event, just as he is scorned in so many New York City neighborhoods.

His 2020 campaign for president – you hadn’t forgotten already, had you? – crashed and burned even faster than now Vice President Kamala Harris’s.

‘If you don’t know anything else about New York City’s mayor, Bill de Blasio,’ the Guardian wrote, ‘you probably know this: almost every day, he gets driven by SUV 11 miles from his mayoral mansion in Manhattan to his favorite Brooklyn gym.’

Rain, shine or impending COVID-19 lockdown — de Blasio is getting in his me time. When defending his decision to be driven to the gym in Park Slope one last time before lockdowns, the mayor actually said with a straight face, ‘I need exercise to be able to stay healthy and make decisions.’

Apparently there is no gym worthy of mayoral patronage on the affluent Upper East Side of Manhattan near Gracie Mansion.

It was just one of a myriad of out-of-touch moves by a disconnected, elitist buffoon.

In February, when the mainstream media finally gave in and began reporting negative news about Gov. Andrew Cuomo, no one was happier to pile on than de Blasio.

He told MSNBC, ‘A lot of people in New York State have received those phone calls. The bullying is nothing new.’ The mayor and governor had been bickering for years, so you could hardly fault de Blasio for his eagerness to watch Cuomo get his just desserts.

But over the last few months, de Blasio’s joy at no longer being the most reviled man in the Empire State has reinvigorated his zest for public office — and for grandstanding.

In a bid to incentivize vaccine-taking, de Blasio and his team offered New Yorkers a chance to win tickets to an NBA playoff game if they got the shot. To drive the message home, de Blasio donned an NBA Brooklyn Nets jersey, matching hat and a huge grin at a press conference. It immediately became the stuff of memes.

In the same month, Shake Shack started offering free French fries to New Yorkers who got vaccinated. To drive the message home (and gross out viewers in the process) the mayor repulsively chomped on fries and a hamburger on live television.

Such cringe-worthy stunts by Hizzoner did remind Americans that while de Blasio is an incompetent goofball, unlike Andrew Cuomo, he is not a sociopath. He is an innocuous perennial source of low-brow comic relief.

Unfortunately, it seems that Cuomo’s expulsion from polite political society has gone to de Blasio’s empty head.

The prospect of Gov. de Blasio is the stuff of nightmares, even for New York voters who have clearly shown that they are gluttons for punishment.

Mayor Gym Rat is walking hubris — all 6 feet, 5 inches of him.

Like most failed, tone-deaf pols, de Blasio pretends not to know the right time to step away from ‘public service’. I’m sure Big Apple residents will be more than happy to inform him that the time to hang it up is now, if not yesterday.