“Michael Bloomberg, who bypassed his own run for the presidency this election cycle, will endorse Hillary Clinton in a prime-time address at the Democratic convention and make the case for Mrs. Clinton as the best choice for moderate voters in 2016,” the New York Times reports.

“The news is an unexpected move from Mr. Bloomberg, who has not been a member of the Democratic Party since 2000; was elected the mayor of New York City as a Republican; and later became an independent.”

Politico: “The former mayor concluded that he’d lose in November or lose later in the House. Either way, it would probably put Donald Trump in the Oval Office.”

“The data Bloomberg’s team put together showed that any path would kill Clinton and leave the Republican nominee largely untouched — even if that Republican was Trump. Clinton has extremely high negative numbers they found, but also extremely high loyalty among Democrats. Bloomberg would win states in three-way races, and turn them green on pollster Doug Schoen’s projected map, but they were all blue states.”

Michael Bloomberg “is expected to decide within the next two weeks whether he will mount a third-party bid for the White House that could further upend a historically wild race,” NBC New York reports.

“Bloomberg, 74, is also mulling a new leadership structure at the company that would allow him to eventually step aside. Those moves — including potentially setting up a succession plan at the top of the company, similar to what Bloomberg did when he stepped aside to run for mayor in 2001 — could be announced within weeks.”

“In a technical move that could be viewed as a prerequisite to announcing an independent bid for the presidency, former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s personal website was recently transferred to an independent web server — away from servers run by his company,” the New York Times reports.

New York Magazine: “A private poll Bloomberg conducted in late February showed Trump rapidly losing support from mainstream Republicans after being mocked by Rubio as a con man, retweeting a Mussolini quote, and refusing to immediately disavow the KKK…. The same poll showed Bloomberg pulling far more votes from the GOP side than the Democrats.”

Politico: “The multi-billionaire media mogul has held out the possibility of an independent candidacy as a tonic for centrists fearful of a Trump presidency. But even as Trump bolstered his chances for the Republican nomination with a solid win in South Carolina, Bloomberg’s trial balloon has yet to gain much altitude, even among those most likely to favor his candidacy.”

“Only if the self-avowed Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders were to cop the Democratic nomination and square off against reality-TV star Trump could these would-be Bloomberg supporters imagine him making the race — and even then, there were doubts.”

Jonathan Chait: “One reason Bloomberg’s presidential ambitions have always been so comically detached from reality is that he fills a space on the political spectrum that is overserved (socially liberal, fiscally conservative) whereas the actual unmet political demand is just the opposite (socially conservative, fiscally liberal). Democrats keep nominating social liberals whose secret heresy is a willingness to cut deals that trim spending on Social Security and Medicare. Republicans nominate fanatic tax-cutters for the percent who want to deregulate Wall Street. Both parties’ elites agree on free trade and more liberal immigration. Bloomberg has always wanted to enter what is an oversaturated market for views congenial to the elite.”

“But if Trump and Sanders win their nominations, then the opposite would suddenly hold true. Instead of the socially liberal–fiscally conservative set having too much representation, it would suddenly have too little. A candidate who is neither a socialist nor a racist would have a large niche.”

Michael Bloomberg confirmed to the Financial Times that he is considering a run for president.

Said Bloomberg: “I find the level of discourse and discussion distressingly banal and an outrage and an insult to the voters.”

Michael Bloomberg “has instructed advisers to draw up plans for an independent campaign in this year’s presidential race,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Bloomberg, 73, has already taken concrete steps toward a possible campaign, and has indicated to friends and allies that he would be willing to spend at least $1 billion of his fortune on it… He has set a deadline for making a final decision in early March, the latest point at which advisers believe Mr. Bloomberg could enter the race and still qualify to appear as an independent candidate on the ballot in all 50 states.”

Washington Post: “This is not the first time that Bloomberg has explored the possibility, and he may well decide that a race is not feasible. But three associates said that several factors have convinced him that a run outside of the Republican and Democratic party process is worth another look.”

New York Times: “Some political leaders, eyeing the Republican split, are sensing opportunity. Michael R. Bloomberg, the billionaire media executive and former New York mayor, was intrigued enough by the prospect of Mr. Trump’s becoming the Republican standard-bearer that he commissioned a poll last month testing how he would fare against Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton, according to two sources close to Mr. Bloomberg.”

“Whatever Mr. Bloomberg decides, the election so far has been upended by voters who live far from his world and, for the first time in years, feel as if their voices are being heard.”

“Speculation increased Saturday that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is gearing up for an independent run for president,” Newsmax reports.

The New York Post says some New York Democrats are hoping to entice former Mayor Michael Bloomberg into the Democratic presidential race.

“Their argument is that Clinton’s vulnerability with general-election voters, especially independents, could result in a Republican president… One visitor to the former mayor came away cautiously optimistic after a 30-minute meeting, noting that Bloomberg didn’t throw him out of the office or start fiddling with his smartphone.”