Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is releasing an updated biography next month amid speculation that he will make a White House bid in 2020, The Hill reports.
Bloomberg Heads to Iowa
Billionaire presidential prospect Michael Bloomberg is heading to Iowa, the AP reports.
“The former New York City mayor, who formally registered as a Democrat last month, is scheduled to appear in Iowa’s capital city at a Dec. 4 screening of a film on climate change, according to senior adviser Howard Wolfson.”
The Anti-Trump
Vanity Fair: “These moves underscore a highly relevant fact about Bloomberg: he is the anti-Donald Trump. He is philanthropic, where Trump is not. He is actually very, very rich—with a net worth of more than $50 billion and counting—whereas Trump mostly pretends to be. He has meaningful and relevant experience as the chief executive of a global company and an international city, while Trump was woefully unprepared to be president and seems always to be learning on the job, and poorly at that. Unlike Trump, who at 72, claims to be the healthiest person who has ever served as president, Bloomberg, four years older than Trump, may actually be among the healthiest. In any event, he has some serious longevity genes: his mother lived to be 102 years old.”
“Being the anti-Trump in nearly every way, shape and form could prove extremely useful politically for Bloomberg should he decide to run in 2020. And there is little doubt that whoever the Democrats nominate to face Trump, the plan will be to draw as sharp a contrast with him as possible, hoping that by then a vast majority of Americans, as well as the Electoral College map, will have had quite enough of Trump and his presidency.”
“The inside word on Wall Street is that Bloomberg will announce his candidacy in February.”
PAC Funds Opposition Research Blitz Against Bloomberg
“A major GOP money group is getting ready to slam Mike Bloomberg with negative talking points if the billionaire Democrat makes a run for the White House in 2020,” CNBC reports.
“America Rising is preparing an opposition-research blitz against Bloomberg that would focus on a range of topics, from his close relationships with Wall Street executives to controversial comments he made about women.”
Bloomberg Will Decide on Presidential Bid Within Weeks
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg “declared lifetime allegiance to the Democratic Party on Tuesday and outlined an aggressive timeline for deciding whether to run for president,” the AP reports.
Said Bloomberg: “Thanksgiving, Christmas and then maybe a few weeks into January — that’s when you really gotta sit down, talk to your advisers and say, ‘Look, do I have a chance?’ I think I know why I would want to run. I think I know what I think this country should do and what I would do. But I just don’t know whether it’s possible.”
He added” “If people don’t seem to be warming to you, there’s plenty of other ways that I can make a difference in life and say thank you to this country for what it’s given my kids and me.”
“Should he run, Bloomberg would bring virtually limitless resources and a pragmatic governing approach to what is expected to be a massive 2020 Democratic field… It’s unclear, however, whether there’s room for Bloomberg in today’s Democratic Party.”
Bloomberg Will Appear In New $5 Million Ad Buy
“Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City who is considering a 2020 presidential campaign, took another step closer to that possibility Sunday with a $5 million national advertising effort that encourages voters to support Democrats in Tuesday’s midterm elections — and offers Bloomberg’s centrist politics as a counter to President Trump,” the Washington Post reports.
“Bloomberg’s 2-minute television ad, which features him speaking directly to the camera and standing before an American flag, will first air Sunday during CBS’s 60 Minutes.”
A Bloomberg Presidential Bid Would Play to the Center
Washington Post: “Half a decade after leaving elected office, Bloomberg, 76, remains a political aberration — an extremely wealthy activist mogul who refuses definition even as both political parties adopt ever-brighter shades of blue and red. And that makes his political ambitions nearly as difficult to predict as Donald Trump’s 2015 decision to pursue the Republican nod… T]e list of obstacles to Bloomberg’s presidential ambitions includes bullet points that could potentially turn off just about every piece of the traditional Democratic coalition.”
“But if he moves forward, a Bloomberg campaign would not run within the Democratic Party as it exists, exactly. His campaign would effectively be an effort to reshape it, and there is clear recent precedent for electoral success by a billionaire who starts a campaign distant from his party’s precepts.”
Trump Says Bloomberg Would Be Easy to Beat
President Trump said that it would be “good” if Michael Bloomberg decided to run for president because he would be “so easy” to beat, The Hill reports.
But he predicted they would not face each other in the general election because of the Democrats’ leftward shift.
Said Trump: “I think the Democrats will eat him up. You know you have a lot of people running. I’m hearing names that are shockingly bad, but they’re nasty.”
Bloomberg Visits New Hampshire
Former three-term New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited New Hampshire Saturday, further fueling speculation that he may run for president in 2020, the AP reports.
Bloomberg, who recently re-registered as a Democrat, said that he is focused on the midterm elections but “we’ll see what happens down the road” when asked about a presidential bid.
The Fixer
Just published: The Fixer: My Adventures Saving Startups from Death by Politics by Bradley Tusk.
James Hohmann: “As crazy as it sounds a decade later, Michael Bloomberg considered Anthony Weiner his most formidable potential challenger as he prepared to seek a third term as mayor of New York City in 2009. Sparing no expense, the billionaire’s political team used a grab bag of tricks to successfully dissuade the then-congressman from running. Bloomberg’s campaign manager, Bradley Tusk, offers an entertaining window into the dark arts of opposition research and tips on getting inside a rival’s head in a chapter of his new book, The Fixer.”
It’s a must-read book.
Bloomberg Registers as a Democrat
Michael Bloomberg announced on Instagram that’s he re-registered to vote as a Democrat.
“At key points in U.S. history, one of the two parties has served as a bulwark against those who threaten our Constitution. Two years ago at the Democratic Convention, I warned of those threats. Today, I have re-registered as a Democrat – I had been a member for most of my life – because we need Democrats to provide the checks and balance our nation so badly needs.”
Can Bloomberg Make America Boring Again?
Ben Smith: “Bloomberg is floating a run for president, for the third time, an exercise that often puzzles the Americans who become aware of it. In this divisive, divided time, is anyone begging for low-profile technocratic leadership?”
“This is, at least, the operating theory at the eco-friendly Upper East Side mansion that houses Bloomberg’s foundation: That there’s space for a Democrat who wants to make America boring again. A candidate whose social media policy is Never Tweet, and whose government would be so drama free that Americans of all political stripes (except, perhaps, lovers of assault weapons and big gulp sodas) could go back to liking football.”
Bloomberg Pledges to Give Most to Female Candidates
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged to contribute more money into backing women candidates in the upcoming midterm elections “than any individual ever has before,” The Hill reports.
Said Bloomberg: “I will be putting more money into supporting women candidates this cycle than any individual ever has before because if we’re going to win, it’s going to be women that get us there. And I want to do my part.”
Lewandowski Says Only Bloomberg Could Challenge Trump
Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told the New York Post that former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is the “only one” who would be competitive with Trump in 2020 “because he’s a job creator, has widespread name ID, boundless money and isn’t saddled with Washington baggage.”
Said Lewandowski: “If I were a Democrat strategist… and somebody said to me ‘who do you want to be the Democrat nominee for president of the United States?’ there’s only one name I would choose … and his name is Michael Bloomberg.”
Bloomberg Mulls Running for President
The Guardian: “In 2012 and 2016, Bloomberg considered running as an independent; each time he concluded that he could not win and ran the risk of splitting the Democratic vote and helping the Republican candidate to win office.”
“But in 2020, sources close to the finance mogul have told the Guardian, if the now 76-year-old candidate does eventually jump into the race, he plans to run as a Democrat. But after two, and now three, election cycles in which Bloomberg has teased his interest and poured over polling data, there are still questions about his ultimate commitment to a run.”
“In previous flirtations, Bloomberg has explained that he dropped the effort to avoid splitting the Democratic vote and risking a Republican presidency.”
Bloomberg Mulls Presidential Bid
“Michael Bloomberg is revving up to run for president in 2020, making him both the oldest and richest person to seek the job,” CBS News reports.
“Bloomberg considered running in 2016 as an Independent, but sources tell CBS that if he runs in 2020, he would run as a Democrat.”
“Political consultants point out the 76-year-old is making a number of key moves, including spending $80 million to help Democrats win Congressional races and collecting a lot of political IOUs in the process.”
Bloomberg to Spend $80 Million on Midterms
“Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, has decided to throw his political clout and personal fortune behind the Democratic campaign to take control of the House of Representatives this year, directing aides to spend tens of millions of dollars in an effort to expel Republicans from power,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Bloomberg — a political independent who has championed left-of-center policies on gun control, immigration and the environment — has approved a plan to pour at least $80 million into the 2018 election, with the bulk of that money going to support Democratic congressional candidates, advisers to Mr. Bloomberg said.”
Bloomberg Warns of ‘Epidemic of Dishonesty’
Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg warned that Americans are facing an “epidemic of dishonesty” in Washington that’s more dangerous than terrorism or communism, the AP reports.
Said Bloomberg: “There is now more tolerance for dishonesty in politics than I have seen in my lifetime. The only thing more dangerous than dishonest politicians who have no respect for the law is a chorus of enablers who defend their every lie.”