Hakeem Jeffries

In fact, I plan on speaking to him today.

and tomorrow and I think from my standpoint look I was prepared to try to bring this to a close one way or the other several weeks ago and then the government shutdown hit and honestly David it's been all encompassing because this is a traumatic moment for the country that this has been inflicted on the American people and then laying on top of it right just shutting the government down as Republicans have done is very problematic but

trying to communicate with the american people why we as democrats also believe that addressing the republican health care crisis is necessary and explaining the entirety of the assault on their health care that has occurred this year beginning with the one big ugly bill and the largest cut to medicaid in american history and the fact that their hospitals and nursing homes and community-based health centers are closing

all across the country, home care will be adversely affected, the possible cut to Medicare at the end of the year, the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, and the threats that they're now making to even try to repeal

the Affordable Care Act, and the assault on public health infrastructure.

This is extraordinary stuff.

We've never seen anything like this in the history of the country, which is why we believe it needs to be decisively addressed, along with, of course, reopening the government, standing by our hardworking federal civil servants, and making sure that we can enact a bipartisan spending agreement.

So it's been all-encompassing.

you know, for the last several weeks.

That said, I do have a sense of obligation to weigh in one way or the other in terms of the mayor's race in advance of early voting.

So I did watch the debate and the themes of criticism that came up from the other two candidates were he's inexperienced and his comments on the Middle East are problematic.

Are those likewise the same issues that you want to talk to him more about?

What's left unsaid between the two of you?

Well, I've certainly already publicly communicated and privately communicated some of my concerns with respect to some of the views that he's expressed in terms of foreign policy.

That said, I believe his relentless focus on affordability is the right focus.

The question becomes for any mayor, for any executive, how are you going to implement that objective?

Because it's the right objective, but he's got to navigate a

treacherous governmental terrain in terms of the city state and most significantly the federal government because it's clear that Donald Trump has it out

for Democratic-led cities all across the country, and we've got to be prepared for the fact that Donald Trump is coming for New York.

I guess my question is one of confusion.