New Orleans mayor calls mention of possible 2020 bid ‘hysterical’

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu (D) is pushing back on a New York Times report that said he may consider running for president in 2020, calling the newspaper’s mention “hysterical.”

“I thought it was interesting,” Landrieu told BuzzFeed News about the article.

“It’s always nice to have your name mentioned, and it’s nice when people recognize what the city of New Orleans has done. But I’ve got a year left. I’m focused on that work and I haven’t really [thought] about what I’m going to do after that,” he said.

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Asked if he considered running for president, he told BuzzFeed, “I have not.”

The Times report published last week mentioned Landrieu alongside Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti as potential mayoral Democrats who “may also consider” running for president in 2020.

Landrieu has seen a heavy media presence after he defended his decision to remove Confederate memorials from the public land in New Orleans, leading to a reignited debate about removing Confederate symbols.

His decision has been controversial, leading to threats and violent outbursts.

“These four monuments were put up well after the Civil War was over by an organization called the Cult of the Lost Cause for one purpose, which was to whitewash the Confederacy and intimidate everybody in New Orleans about who was still in control even after the Confederacy lost the war,” Landrieu told BuzzFeed. “That’s not who New Orleans is or was, and it is not an accurate recitation of history.”

Landrieu previously served as lieutenant governor of Louisiana, and he comes from a family of politicians who served in the state. His sister Mary is a former U.S. senator and his father also formerly served as mayor of New Orleans.