Michael Bloomberg Senior Advisor Says New York Billionaire Is Not Trying To Buy The Democratic Presidency
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is already polling better than many candidates, aided by spending $57 million of his own in just ten days.
In an interview with Bloomberg's senior advisor Timothy O'Brien, KDKA political editor Jon Delano asked, "Is this presidential race, is this presidency up for sale?"
The interview comes shortly after U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris ended her campaign, saying she was not a billionaire.
O'Brien claimed Bloomberg was not buying the presidency.
"He's fortunate enough to have the resources to launch a full-blooded national campaign out of the gates that will bring this battle to Donald Trump's doorstep," he said.
"I don't think this, about the presidency for sale. If that was all this was about, you wouldn't have someone like Mike Bloomberg deeply committed to addressing things like economic inequality."
So why should Democrats back Bloomberg over Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg, each of whom leads Bloomberg in the polls?
"Mike Bloomberg has a proven track record as an entrepreneur, business manager and mayor of New York that hits just about every box that someone would want to check off."
If Bloomberg were to win the nomination, it would pit two very wealthy men against each other.
"Why should voters exchange one billionaire for another billionaire?" asked Delano.
O'Brien says, unlike Trump, Bloomberg is a self-made man who got through college on loans.
"Donald Trump is not self-made. He is a serial bankruptcy artist. Most of the companies he actually ran were small boutique companies that he ran into the ground."
Now on most policy issues, Bloomberg seems in accord with his Democratic colleagues, although he does differ on some.
His senior advisor tells KDKA that Bloomberg is a free trader, supports energy development including fracking and believes in a national, not a local, approach to gun control measures.
Bloomberg has tried to position himself as a moderate compromise choice in his party.