The long rumored independent presidential run of billionaire Michael Bloomberg won’t be happening. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be staying away from the 2016 race.
The former New York City mayor said Monday that he will not run for president, citing a concern that his independent bid would hand the White House to Donald Trump or Ted Cruz.
Instead, Bloomberg seems intent to do everything he — and his billions — can do to hand the highest office in the land to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Bloomberg, who has spent months mulling a third-party run that would have roiled this year’s already extraordinarily unpredictable presidential campaign, made his decision official through an editorial posted on the Bloomberg View website.
Bloomberg, in ending his third and likely final flirtation with a White House run, wrote that a three-way race could lead to no one winning a majority of electoral votes, which would send the race to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives — and, therefore, to one of the GOP front-runners.
“That is not a risk I can take in good conscience,” Bloomberg wrote.
Bloomberg was blistering in his critique of Trump, currently the GOP front-runner, saying the real estate mogul has run “the most divisive and demagogic presidential campaign I can remember, preying on people’s prejudices and fears.”
He was similarly critical of Cruz, saying the Texas senator’s “pandering on immigration may lack Trump’s rhetorical excess, but it is no less extreme.”
Bloomberg acknowledged that he and Trump had been on “friendly terms” and that he had twice agreed to be on Trump’s reality TV show “The Apprentice.” But the former mayor said Trump’s campaign “appeals to our worst impulses.”
“We cannot ‘make America great again’ by turning our backs on the values that made us the world’s greatest nation in the first place,” Bloomberg wrote. “I love our country too much to play a role in electing a candidate who would weaken our unity and darken our future — and so I will not enter the race for president of the United States.”
His aides indicated that Bloomberg may at some point offer an endorsement of Clinton and use his wealth to try to influence the race.
The former three-term mayor, who had indicated he would spend $1 billion of his own money on the campaign, had set a mid-March deadline for his team of advisers to assess the feasibility of mounting a run, believing that waiting longer would imperil his ability to complete the petition process needed to get on the ballots in all 50 states.
He had taken some initial steps, cutting a mock TV ad, preparing to open campaign offices in Texas and North Carolina — states with early ballot access deadlines — and having aides begin to vet possible vice presidential candidates, including Michael Mullen, the retired admiral and former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
But as Clinton racked off a string of recent victories, Bloomberg — known largely outside New York for his crusades against guns and Big Soda, positions likely unpopular with Republicans nationwide — grew worried that he would siphon more support from her than Trump, ensuring that part of the mayor’s carefully managed legacy would be that he helped give Trump the White House.
Clinton said Monday during a town hall in Detroit that she had “the greatest respect for Michael Bloomberg” and that she looked “forward to continuing to work with him.”
One of the richest people in the United States, estimated to be worth $38 billion, Bloomberg has previously toyed with presidential runs, but concluded ahead of the 2008 and 2012 campaigns he could not win.
The founder of the financial news and information provider Bloomberg LP, he was a political novice when he launched an unlikely bid for mayor in 2001.
He is largely a social liberal — he fought for same-sex marriage in New York and is pro-abortion rights — and implemented a number of health reforms in New York City, banning smoking in public places and instituting calorie counts on menus.
He has also become one of the nation’s most vocal proponents of gun control, using his fortune to bankroll candidates across the country who clash with the National Rifle Association.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
When Bloomberg was the mayor of NYC, he turned NYC into trash cans where the dead beats flourished, trashing the environment, running the streets of NYC knocking down people coming and going home from work. It became a city where majority became handouts, for it is a lucrative place to be under the administration that catered to their support to put them in power.
In contrast, when Giuliani was the mayor, NYC was the safest and cleanest city where tourism had flourished. It was the shining city on the hill, Americans were proud of.
“Pride cometh before a fall”. .
Another Billionaire attempting to inflence or (buy) an election. No wonder they are so scared of Bernie. So is the rest of this nation, but good old Hillary will take big money again.
Amen on Bernie. He’s the good guy, and people don’t do their home work. They want to have a lady as the first female president. I’m ok with a lady, just not Hillary.
Bloomberg keeps trying to buy government and put in who he wants in elections from mayor to president all over the country. He is , to be kind, an extreme excentric, who wants to tell us all how we MUST live and he is willing to spend his billions to see that it happens. It is a sad thing for this country that money has such great influence over Right and Freedom. Bloomberg is anti-freedom.
Agree. Tell him to give his billions away to the people vs wasting it on elections and buying votes. The waste of money is appalling.
No one wants a Nanny USA , you would lose any ways
Money can buy everything !!!
It seems laughable, actually. No one was clamoring for Bloomberg to run for President, yet he felt the need to throw out a line to see if anyone was biting. Since no one did, he felt it necessary once again to summon the press and tell them he would not be running. The bleachers are still empty, though, Mr. Bloomberg. We already have a narcissist in the White House. I don’t think we need another one.
The other curious aspect of his “concession speech” was that Bloomberg, supposedly a Republican doesn’t want to mount a third party run because it might have the effect of putting the Republican nominee in the White House. At least he knows who his supporters are and they are not Republicans!
I would bet that Bloomberg asked Donald Trump for favors while he was Mayor, knowing that Mr Trump was needed to solve the problems he was facing. It is so ” establishment ” for him to do this to someone that has helped you in the past…..Don’t you wish how many times Trump helped him……TONS! There are no friends when it comes to MONEY and POWER! Trust no one and if caught “LIE” like Hillary Clinton……LIE,CHEAT and STEAL …CODE OF THE EAST!!!!!
I’m sure Mr. Trump knows plenty on Bloomberg that he could tell to turn his ASS Black!,Purple and probably PINK!!….Not racist …just a slogan
Isn’t that political correctness? lol
Bloomberg faced the reality that third party candidates don’t win. Ross Perot spent a lot of his fortune and didn’t receive a single electoral vote.
It will be interesting to see how Hillary handles a Bloomberg endorsement. Will she name him as her vice president? Bloomberg is so extreme he makes Hillary and Bernie look normal.
Hey Nanny boy, no one gives a flying damn
Bloomberg will now shower more money of Clinton. I just hope the American people can see that our country is being sold off to profit-seeking control freaks who will further sell our future for their immediate gain. Hillary and Bloomberg are two peas in a pod – keep spending money and run the national debt out of sight. The US will become as bankrupt as Greece. A vote for Hillary is a vote to put your grandchildren in the poorhouse. How can one see better the Wall Street (profit-at-all-cost) connection to Hillary than the support of Michael Bloomberg?
I agree with you totally!
Never lived in new york..but when
Bloomberg wanted to control such
Things as salt and sodapop…he
Scared me. No one should have that
Much power. Just think if hillary
Gets elected we will have more muslim
Refugees and immigrants than even
Obama. Dont trust all the freebies shes
Promising. Nothing is free.
I drove a bus in and out of New York for 35 years. I started in 1963 and watched the city go down. Crime was way up, tourism way down and then Rudy Giuliani became mayor and cleaned the city up and made it safe and brought back tourists. It was Rudy Giuliani that saved New York. Bloomberg did nothing to help I know this from working in the city
The problem with these eletists is that they cannot see why it is that Trump is so popular with the people, the people are finally up to their neck in rage and disdain for the status quo which keeps everything for themselves and the rich and does not make any changes which might help the little guy, the people want actual change, America CAN be great again and that is what the people want.
Does he have any idea how unknown he is here in fly-over land? How incredibly arrogant of him to think he had even the slightest chance. And if all he wanted to do is stop Trump or Cruz, why not run as a Democrat? Any “Republican” who would rather see a win by Clinton (over Trump or Cru)z has got to seriously reassess his party affiliation. He is probably another delusional business person who fancies himself to be a capitalist when he has no idea what capitalism really is.
Maybe if I started commenting on a liberal site some Democrat might see the light? I am just flabbergasted that they will vote for Hitlery and believe her. NOTHING that comes out of that woman’s mouth is the truth.
Thank God and Greyhound this libturd is out of the fray!!!!
Praise the Lord, and thank God that you came to your senses .You would make a horrible President.
Aw gee, and here I was anxiously anticipating meaningful legislation like a limit of 16oz on all sugary drinks nationwide. He’s my little hero.
I never cared for Trump. Cruz is defiantly a politician with all his political promises and garbage we hear every election year. I’m in my 60’s now and have seen a lot of presidents, none of which has impressed me much. Rubio is not my idea of a good strong leader. Kasich has a lot of good ideas but seems to lack the drive it takes to follow through. Ben Carsen is too nice to handle the pressure. Hillary is evil, and Bernie (again had good ideas) but some of his ideas are scary. Hmmmm, let me see. Is this so different from most election years? Again trying to choose the one that would be the least bad. It’s always bad or worse. My pick would probably go to Trump. He’s not tactful and doesn’t seem to have a lot of political knowledge, but he has been successful and if he doesn’t know an answer, he can find people that do. My worst fear would be Hillary. Not the woman I want speaking for me.
I’m just glad that Bloomberg will not be in the race.
I am simply glad that Bloomberg will not possibly become President of the United States.
I think Bloomberg made a wonderful decision. Yes Giuliani cleaned up New York, but at whose expense? I don’t think destroying affordable housing, jailing panhandlers and using aggressive policing is a sustainable way to run a city, even in New York. If we look at recent history, America wasn’t really that “great” for everyone. Even though I am 36, I remember 1992 like it was only yesterday. Its the year republicans don’t talk about and the “great” Mr Trump wants to bring back. The nation was divided, we had WON the gulf war and we had a Ronald Reagan’s Vice President running the White house. Even though Trump will not have the disadvantage of a republican white house for 12 years, he will have to avoid making some of the same mistakes as the elder Bush during his presidency and I don’t see him doing that, even with good advisors. Bush also had some of his agenda “blocked” by a democratic congress which I guarantee will also happen in a Trump presidency.
I believe in Donald Trump. He is not a politician but he can be a good leader as President. His views are the American people’s views.
Nanny Bloomberg got his panties in a bunch. He really thought in his mind he could run and win. LOL. A complete narcissistic,egolistic anti-American jagoff. Go away Bloomers.
I agree with Artin’s statement. The “quality” required to take charge of a country should never be underestimated. However, Trump’s mistakes (particularly on leadership) can be corrected while in the campaign-time. As a candidate…, he must take constructive criticism and adhere to meet the American’s views.