Michael Bloomberg to stand as US presidential candidate



11/08/2019 9:15 AM


Former Mayor of New York, billionaire Michael Bloomberg may stand as a Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidential election in 2020. Earlier, the businessman claimed that he was not going to participate in the race. Now he believes that the current Democratic contenders are not ready to “secure a defeat for Trump.”



David Berkowitz
Michael Bloomberg is actively preparing for entry into the primaries of the US Democratic Party, and is due to apply for registration as a candidate in Alabama this week, The New York Times said. The deadline for submitting papers on Friday is November 8th.

Bloomberg's nomination was not ruled out by his adviser Howard Wolfson. “Mike is confident that [the current president of the United States] poses an unprecedented threat to our country. <...> We need to complete the work and ensure the defeat of Trump. However, Mike is increasingly worried that current Democrat candidates are not ready to do this,” Wolfson wrote on Twitter.

It’s not the first time when Bloomberg intends to enter the presidential race. He told about this back in 2016 and earlier this year, but then abandoned plans, the New York Times recalled. If Bloomberg decides to run, this could lead to a “seismic destruction” of the Democratic campaign: with his enormous wealth, centrist views and close ties to the establishment, he will pose a serious danger to Joe Biden, who is now considered the most likely Democratic candidate, the newspaper said. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are not considered strong candidates at all, NYT added. 

NYT interlocutors argue that Bloomberg should decide on participation in the primaries within a few days. If he is nominated, he will have to act quickly: in addition to Alabama, the deadlines for filing documents are approaching in several other states, the newspaper said. According to an October Fox News poll, only 6% of respondents would definitely support Bloomberg if nominated (for comparison, ex-President Barack Obama has 50%, and former Secretary of State and Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton - 27%). At the same time, 32% replied that they would never vote for Bloomberg (Obama - 8%, Clinton - 30%).

Michael Bloomberg is 77 years old and older than incumbent President Donald Trump. If elected, he will be almost 83 years old by the end of his term. Bloomberg served as mayor of New York from 2002 to 2013. Bloomberg takes the 9th place in the ranking of the richest businessmen on the planet according to Forbes, his wealth is estimated at $ 55.5 billion.

source: nytimes.com


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