This year’s mayoral election went to Democrat Bill de Blasio, as was highly anticipated. De Blasio won 65 percent of the votes, beating Republican opponent Nicole Malliotakis.
In an exclusive with New York Daily News, officials at the city’s Board of Elections revealed that the Trumps botched their votes, which were all absentee ballots.
Melania failed to sign the ballot envelope, despite instructions requiring her to do so.
The instructions state the following: “After making your votes on the ballot, fold the ballot and put it in a smaller envelope. Sign and date the back of the envelope. Seal the envelope and put it in the larger envelope that is addressed to the Board of Elections. Mail or deliver your ballot to your borough Board of Elections office.”
One BOE official told the Daily News that, “if any of the information is missing it is invalid,” which disqualified Melania’s ballot from counting.
Ivanka ended up mailing hers in too late, sending it in on Election Day while the BOE site states it “must be postmarked by the day before Election Day.” Her husband, Jared Kushner, didn’t send his ballot in, period.
This isn’t the first time Ivanka botched her ballot. In the 2016 New York Republican primary, both she and Eric, formerly registered as independents, failed to change their party affiliation in time, which made them ineligible to vote for their father.
While Trump’s ballot appeared to be fine, the Daily News found an error: his birthdate was incorrect. Trump was born on June 14, 1946, but he wrote July instead. BOE officials were not clear if the mistake affected the president’s vote, and Metro has reached out to seek confirmation.
De Blasio and Trump beef
It’s safe to say that Trump would not have voted for De Blasio regardless of whether or not his vote was affected by his error (and with the way the election played out, the mayor still would have won).
De Blasio has been very vocal about his opposition to the president in the past. Among other things, he spoke openly about the threat the Trump administration has on NYC’s status as a “sanctuary city,” declaring to protect undocumented locals at risk. And just a day before the mayoral election in November, De Blasio spent nearly a third of a speech set in Midtown slamming Trump’s tax plan.
“The danger to New York City isn’t here,” De Blasio said to the crowd, The New York Post reports. “The danger to New York City and to our growth and to our potential is a series of policies emanating from Washington.”
De Blasio’s campaign for re-election revolved around Trump. During a rally late in October, CBS News reported that the mayor promised: “We will stand up to Donald Trump every single day. So long as he’s in the White House, this city cannot be as fair as it needs to be unless we take him on.”
Likewise, Trump isn’t so peachy keen about the re-elected NYC mayor. Back in July, Trump took a jab at De Blasio during a speech to law enforcement about the MS-13 gang on Long Island, calling cops to fix the “weak political leadership” and “weak policing” in order to control the violence accumulating there.“I’ve met great police who aren’t allowed to do their job because they have a pathetic mayor or a mayor who doesn’t know what’s going on,” Trump said.
According to the New York Post, Blasio’s camp later stated it was sure the president was talking about him.
Twitter, twitter chicken dinner
The two have also took their opposition to the battlefield of all battlefields: Twitter.
Back in 2015, after De Blasio said in a radio interview that he was opposed to Trump’s call on the NYPD to reinstate its Muslim surveillance program — and stated that he’s a “blowhard” — Trump retaliated on social media. He referred to De Blasio as “the worst Mayor in the U.S. and probably the worst Mayor in the history of NYC.”
Can you believe the worst Mayor in the U.S., & probably the worst Mayor in the history of #NYC, @BilldeBlasio, just called me a blow hard!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 20, 2015
When President Trump refused to share is tax documents in April, making him the first U.S. Federal leader in over 40 year to keep this under wraps, De Blasio released his own 2016 tax returns on Twitter writing, “See, President Trump? It’s not that hard.”
See, President Trump? It’s not that hard. https://t.co/bGdPtVnyVP pic.twitter.com/23Hw0F5v3I
— Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) April 18, 2017
After Hurricane Maria, Trump tweeted about his administration’s relief efforts claiming, “Nobody could have done what I’ve done for #PuertoRico with so little appreciation. So much work!”
Nobody could have done what I’ve done for #PuertoRico with so little appreciation. So much work! pic.twitter.com/k2jAkIpfjI
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2017
To which De Blasio directly replied, “88% of the island is without power more than two weeks after the storm hit. Stop congratulating yourself and get back to work.”
88% of the island is without power more than two weeks after the storm hit. Stop congratulating yourself and get back to work. https://t.co/D0SS9bD6Dp
— Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) October 9, 2017
Then, he takes it a step further with a post about New Yorkers’ efforts specifically:
Because @realDonaldTrump‘s response has been so weak, New Yorkers have stepped up to help our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico. #NYCporPR pic.twitter.com/wTAco6n0U4
— Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) October 8, 2017
Twitter proves itself to be quite the bloody battlefield sometimes.
