NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio Ends Presidential Bid

NEW YORK, NY — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose long-shot candidacy for president never caught fire and recently dwindled to the point he no longer qualified for a place on the Democratic debate stage, announced Friday he is out of the race.

"I feel like I've contributed all I can to this primary election, and it's clearly not my time," de Blasio said on MSNBC's Morning Joe Friday morning.

"So I'm going to end my presidential campaign — continue my work as mayor of New York City," he said.

De Blasio, who first launched his campaign in May, missed the cut for the third round of debates this month after being dogged by issues back home in earlier debates. Earlier this month, Hizzoner acknowledged he may drop out.

As the mayor was campaigning across the country, New Yorkers mocked his run for president back home.

At Hizzoner's go-to Park Slope YMCA, flyers warning gym members not to run for president were posted and a concession speech podium with a sign saying "I'm Dropping Out" were set up.

Even residents living on Billionaires Row trolled the mayor with billboards against a homeless shelter the administration plans to locate on West 58th Street.

Just Thursday, dozens of community gardeners accosted him, chanting "shame on you" when he walked by their rally against new city rules for the green oases.

His long-shot campaign raked in about $1.1 million in six weeks, a dollar amount South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg was able to raise in four hours.

In an essay on NBC News, he reemphasized why he will "keep fighting for working people" with policies like guaranteed paid leave and universal health care.

"The campaign has been a profound experience for me," he wrote. "I saw America in full — not as it appears on Twitter and cable news, where we're constantly shown a country hamstrung by our differences and unable to tackle the problems we face."

After spending just seven hours at City Hall in May, there will be plenty of work to return to in a city where cyclist deaths are spiking, a lead paint plaguing public housing and classrooms, and a housing and homelessness crisis.

One Twitter user, Loren S., wrote on Twitter now that the mayor has dropped out, "can he also resign as Mayor?"

"Should've never started!!" wrote another.