--- description: The politicians invoked the stereotype of "C.P. time" title: Hillary Clinton and Bill de Blasio Draw Criticism for Racial Joke image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt274aee1904b80cc9/69888eb40a4a2257469c9337/bill-de-blasio.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2016 Election](/tag/2016-election/) ## 2016 Election Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Hillary Clinton and Bill de Blasio Draw Criticism for Racially Charged Joke by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 11, 2016 11:55 PM CUT  Mayor Bill De Blasio at Hillary Clinton at labor rally at The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on March 2, 2016 in New York City. Mayor Bill De Blasio at Hillary Clinton at labor rally at The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on March 2, 2016 in New York City.Steve Sands—WireImage/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 11, 2016 11:55 PM CUT Hillary Clinton and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio [sparked controversy](http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/04/11/hillary-clinton-bill-de-blasio/ "undefined") at an event on Saturday with a racially charged joke. Clinton and de Blasio were joined onstage by Leslie Odom Jr. in costume as Aaron Burr, whom he plays in the hit Broadway musical _Hamilton_. Clinton thanked de Blasio for his endorsement—which many pointed out came rather [late in the game](http://time.com/4094173/new-york-mayor-bill-de-blasio-endorses-hillary-clinton/ "undefined")—and ribbed him, “Took you long enough.” The mayor replied, “Sorry, Hillary, I was running on C.P. time.” The abbreviation refers to the stereotype of “Colored People time,” and several people in the audience could be heard gasping or groaning. Odom, who is black and whom the [New York ](http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/04/11/hillary-clinton-bill-de-blasio/ "undefined")[_Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/04/11/hillary-clinton-bill-de-blasio/ "undefined")suggests was in on the joke, rebuked him, saying, “I don’t like jokes like that, Bill.” Clinton dryly replied, “Cautious politician time. I’ve been there.” The exchange prompted pushback online, both from bloggers and social media users. Clinton, who has performed well with black voters in early primaries, will depend on their votes in the New York primary on April 19. \[[_NYT_](http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/04/11/hillary-clinton-bill-de-blasio/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4290109/hillary-clinton-bill-de-blasio-cp-time/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4290109/hillary-clinton-bill-de-blasio-cp-time/"},"headline":"Hillary Clinton and Bill de Blasio Draw Criticism for Racially Charged Joke","datePublished":"2016-04-11T23:55:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:39:12.466Z","description":"The politicians invoked the stereotype of \"C.P. time\"","url":"https://time.com/4290109/hillary-clinton-bill-de-blasio-cp-time/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt274aee1904b80cc9/69888eb40a4a2257469c9337/bill-de-blasio.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt274aee1904b80cc9/69888eb40a4a2257469c9337/bill-de-blasio.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hillary Clinton Holds Post-Super Tuesday Rally In NYC","caption":"Hillary Clinton Holds Post-Super Tuesday Rally In NYC","creditText":"Steve Sands—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4290109/hillary-clinton-bill-de-blasio-cp-time/","name":"Hillary Clinton and Bill de Blasio Draw Criticism for Racially Charged Joke"}}]}] ```