Bloomberg Says Bill de Blasio’s Campaign is a “Racist” One!

 But de Blasio, himself, is not one, says Mike Bloomberg, who also thinks the campaign is wrong in other ways. ‘Tearing people apart with this ‘two cities’ thing doesn't make any sense to me. It's a destructive strategy for those you want to help the most,’ says Hizzoner.

( BY MARA GAY AND ANNIE KARNI / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)

Is Mike Bloomberg pondering his legacy on this magazine cover?

Just three days before the primary, Mayor Bloomberg thrust himself into the contentious mayor’s race, accusing Democratic frontrunner Bill de Blasio of running a “racist” campaign.

In an interview with New York magazine released Saturday, the outgoing mayor took issue with de Blasio repeatedly showcasing his interracial family as he seeks the city’s top job.

Bloomberg made the suggestive remarks after the New York magazine interviewer, Chris Smith, said de Blasio “has in some ways been running a class-warfare campaign.”

“Class-warfare and racist,” Bloomberg interjected.

 “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,” Bloomberg said.

“Racist?” he was asked.

“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.”

De Blasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray, is black and has been a constant presence in his campaign, as has their 16-year-old son, Dante. De Blasio began surging in the polls after launching a campaign ad featuring Dante, whose towering Afro has generated enormous attention. Polls now show that de Blasio, the city's public advocate, even leads Bill Thompson, the only African-American in the race, among black voters.

JULIA XANTHOS/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

The De Blasio family, left to right: Chaiara De Blasio, the daughter of mayoral candidate Bill De Blasio, wife Chirlane McCray and son Dante on the campaign trail.

Bloomberg’s interview immediately overshadowed the campaign on the last Saturday before the primary, as the candidates were preparing to fan out across the city with carefully framed arguments and appeals.

 Speaking to reporters after an appearance with the other Democratic contenders at Rev. Al Sharpton’s House of Justice, de Blasio slammed Bloomberg.

Of all the Democratic candidates, de Blasio has positioned himself most as the anti-Bloomberg, and the mayor’s comments handed de Blasio another opportunity to put his family front and center and attack the mayor.

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

“I think people feel something good about this family so I don’t understand what the mayor is saying.”

De Blasio's rivals felt compelled to jump to his defense.

 CRAIG WARGA/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"Bloomberg's comments are outrageous. We are all proud of our families, and we should be," Thompson said on Twitter.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg says de Blasio’s campaign is “racist.”

And Christine Quinn, who had been the frontrunner in the Democratic primary until last month, called Bloomberg's remarks, "extremely unfortunate."

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

In the interview, Bloomberg also said he objected to de Blasio’s “tale of two cities” campaign mantra. He called it a “destructive strategy for those you want to help the most.”

“His whole campaign is that there are two different cities here. I’ve never liked that kind of division,” Bloomberg said.

“The way to help those who are less fortunate is, number one, to attract more very fortunate people. They are the ones that pay the bills. The people that would get very badly hurt here if you drive out the very wealthy are the people he professes to try to help,” he added.

 “Tearing people apart with this ‘two cities’ thing doesn't make any sense to me. It's a destructive strategy for those you want to help the most. He's a very populist, very left-wing guy, but this city is not two groups, and if to some extent it is, it's one group paying for services for the other.”

Bloomberg added, “It’s a shame, because I’ve always thought [de Blasio] was a very smart guy.” He challenged that de Blasio “doesn’t have any ideas,” blasting his proposal to raise taxes as a non-starter in Albany.

“So come up with some real ideas, Bill!”

In the interview, Bloomberg gave a shout out to Quinn, whose work with Bloomberg over the years has emerged as a political liability in the Democratic primary, because of the voters’ anti-Bloomberg mood.

“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,” Bloomberg said.

AKarni@nydailynews.com