Facing the possibility of failing to qualify for future primary debates, Democratic presidential candidate Bill de Blasio complained the DNC was limiting "diversity" and wasn't "inclusive."
The New York City mayor told NY1's Errol Louis on Monday that while the Democratic National Committee had assured him of a spot in the summer debates, "a lot of candidates and a lot of people are concerned" about the qualifications for the September debates, which doubles the number of individual donors required to secure a spot on the stage.
"[130,000] is a huge number, and I appreciate the impulse, but I think we have to ask the question, is this going to limit the debate and limit the diversity of the field and limit the options for voters in a way that's unhelpful?" de Blasio said.
De Blasio claimed that when he visited Iowa, the people there were interested in hearing from as many candidates as possible.
"I'm going to look at that situation or that next round in the fall, but I do hope the DNC remembers that we're always better off being inclusive," he continued.
Louis asked whether the September rules where an attempt by the DNC to winnow the field.
"I have not heard that explicitly," de Blasio responded, "one could argue that by making that change, that could be the result."
"We have to be careful going forward because this is the most diverse field in every sense we've ever had in the history of Democratic Party. That's a beautiful thing. Every region of the country represented, people of all backgrounds represented. It's really healthy for the party."