On Sunday, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg officially entered the presidential nomination for 2020. For the first time, the billionaire has actually filed the official paperwork, entering the Presidential primary in Alabama, running as a Democrat.
By Ilana Siyance
As reported by CBS News, a Bloomberg political advisor disclosed that the new candidate was stirred to enter the race because he felt the Democratic Party needed another strong candidate. The advisor said Bloomberg’s team has already taken polls. Bloomberg will offer a unique fusion of political experience coupled with business know-how, and experience in philanthropy. The 77-year-old CEO of his namesake media empire is the 9th richest person in the U.S. and the 14th richest person in the world, with an estimated $58 billion, as per Forbes.
President Donald J. Trump lost no time commenting on Bloomberg’s entry. “I’ve known Michael Bloomberg a long time. You go back, early on, he said a lot of great things about Trump. But I know Michael, he became just a nothing, he’s really a nothing,” said President Trump. “He’s not going to do well, but I think he’s going to hurt Biden actually, but he doesn’t have the magic to do well. He will not do very well and if he did, I’d be happy. There is nobody I’d rather run against than little Michael, that I can tell you.”
Bloomberg has been going back and forth in his decision to run for presidency more than four times so far, now to have filed ahead of the Alabama primary deadline which is Friday. On the one side, the billionaire will have a difficult time divesting himself of his business, to avoid conflicts of interest. On the other hand, it seems he has a strong aversion for President Trump and wills to personally make sure he is not re-elected. “I’m a New Yorker and I know a con when I see one,” Bloomberg has said. “We cannot afford four more years of President Trump’s reckless and unethical actions. He represents an existential threat to our country and our values,” Bloomberg says on his election website.
The question which remains unanswered is, will Bloomberg have a good chance of winning nomination. His moderate positions, pragmatic sense and ability to finance his own campaign will certainly work for him. Political analyst Hank Sheinkopf says Bloomberg may have a shot, but that his status as a billionaire may impede him. “Some people will attack him because he’s rich, others will say wait a second, I want to be a billionaire too,” said Sheinkopf.
We have already seen that even the other Democratic candidates are making snide comments. Senator Elizabeth Warren took to twitter, saying “welcome to the race” Mike Bloomberg, but she therein attached a link to a calculator for billionaires that summarizes her proposed wealth tax plan. Bernie Sanders also took a stab, tweeting “The billionaire class is scared and they should be scared.”
