Bloomberg Says De Blasio Campaign is "Racist"

So, according to Mayor Bloomberg, Bill de Blasio's running a racist campaign...because he shows off his racially diverse family. Really.

In an interview with New York Magazine released earlier on Saturday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg slams the mayoral hopeful, Bill de Blasio, for using his mixed-race family to garner support during his campaign race.

"...then there’s Bill de Blasio, who’s become the Democratic front-runner. He has in some ways been running a class-warfare campaign," the interviewer says.

"Class-warfare and racist," Bloomberg interjects.

"I mean he's making an appeal using his family to gain support. I think it's pretty obvious to anyone watching what he's been doing," the mayor then goes on to explain. "I do not think he himself is racist. It's comparable to me pointing out I'm Jewish in attracting the Jewish vote. You tailor messages to your audiences and address issues you think your audience cares about."

Because, uh, Bloomberg never played up his ethnicity. (Remember this?)

De Blasio, the city's public advocate, had a popularity surge after launching a campaign ad, featuring his son Dante, which showcased the candidate's opposition to stop-and-frisk policies. Polls show De Blasio recently leading the race's front-runner, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, also overtaking Bill Thompson — the only African-American candidate — among black voters.

“It’s obviously inappropriate and I’m surprised to hear him say it,” de Blasio said of the Mayor's comments. “I’m very proud of my family and the way they’ve handled themselves in a very difficult campaign circumstance."

The Mayor, whose comments come just before Tuesday's primary contests, also took the opportunity to push his support for Quinn, who's been closely affiliated with Bloomberg during the campaign.

"Whether you are in favor of Chris Quinn becoming mayor or not, I will tell you this: She did a very good job for seven and a half years of keeping legislation that never should have made it to the floor, that would have been damaging to the city, from ever getting there. And she deserves a lot of the credit for what’s gone on in the city in the last seven and a half years," he said.

But even Quinn called Bloomberg's remarks "extremely unfortunate."

"Forget the politics for a moment, I don't think the mayor should make these comments," the candidate said.

Here's some of the Twittersphere's reactions: