Michael Bloomberg Not Running For President, Worried Candidacy Would Lead To Election Of Trump, Cruz
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Monday that he will not be running for president.
Bloomberg made the announcement in an op-ed piece on Bloomberg View.
"But when I look at the data, it's clear to me that if I entered the race, I could not win. I believe I could win a number of diverse states -- but not enough to win the 270 Electoral College votes necessary to win the presidency," the former mayor wrote.
CBS2's Tony Aiello reported Monday the calendar forced Bloomberg's hand as it was do-or-die with filing deadlines coming up.
"In a three-way race, it's unlikely any candidate would win a majority of electoral votes, and then the power to choose the president would be taken out of the hands of the American people and thrown to Congress. The fact is, even if I were to receive the most popular votes and the most electoral votes, victory would be highly unlikely, because most members of Congress would vote for their party's nominee. Party loyalists in Congress -- not the American people or the Electoral College -- would determine the next president," Bloomberg wrote.
Bloomberg added that he was worried his candidacy could pave the way to Donald Trump or Sen. Ted Cruz winning the presidency.
"As the race stands now, with Republicans in charge of both Houses, there is a good chance that my candidacy could lead to the election of Donald Trump or Senator Ted Cruz. That is not a risk I can take in good conscience," Bloomberg said.
The former three-term mayor wrote that Trump has "run the most divisive and demagogic presidential campaign I can remember, preying on people's prejudices and fears."
"Threatening to bar foreign Muslims from entering the country is a direct assault on two of the core values that gave rise to our nation: religious tolerance and the separation of church and state. Attacking and promising to deport millions of Mexicans, feigning ignorance of white supremacists, and threatening China and Japan with a trade war are all dangerously wrong, too. These moves would divide us at home and compromise our moral leadership around the world. The end result would be to embolden our enemies, threaten the security of our allies, and put our own men and women in uniform at greater risk," the 74-year-old Bloomberg said.
Trump added that Cruz's rhetoric is no less extreme and no less divisive.
"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. 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," Bloomberg said.
The billionaire flirted with a third-party run, telling the Financial Times last month he was "looking at all the options."
Bloomberg's name popped up on the 2016 radar following reports he would consider running if Trump or Cruz took the Republican nomination and if Sen. Bernie Sanders beat Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side.
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