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John Heilemann: Clinton Team 'Furious' Over De Blasio Snub

April 13, 2015

Hillary Clinton is "furious" at a former staffer who undercut her highly anticipated presidential announcement.

Unlike previous leaks from Clinton staffers, the culprit of the Clinton snub did so on live television.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who previously ran Clinton’s successful Senate campaign, bluntly said "no" when Chuck Todd asked whether he would endorse his former boss.

"Not until I see—and, again, I would say this about any candidate—until I see an actual vision of where they want to go," de Blasio said on Meet the Press.

"I think, like a lot of people in this country, I want to see a vision. And, again, that would be true of candidates on all levels. It’s time to see a clear, bold vision for progressive economic change."

The comments drew criticism from Clinton allies who reportedly were surprised and angered by de Blasio.

"He ran her campaign at one point. A lot of the Democrats immediately endorsing her—for him to take that posture, I think, not only I was surprised but apparently the Clinton people were furious," Heilemann said.

"This is her announcement day," Hilary Rosen, Democratic strategist, said. "It’s one thing to say we’re looking forward to listening to her policies, to examining it more and the like. It’s another thing to kind of stomp on it. I just thought that his tone seemed to stomp on it."

De Blasio’s comments are troubling for the Democratic frontrunner. The mayor highlighted a popular critique of Clinton: She has not offered a rationale for running for president and her announcement gave no clarity on where she stands on important issues. Clinton has yet to build her platform.

"Substance and vision does it," said de Blasio.

"It’s a much different time than 2008," de Blasio said. "There are a lot of new issues and new material for Hillary to address."