Bloomberg has barbs at the ready for his first 2020 debate
Send a link to a friend
[February 18, 2020]
By Jason Lange
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When Michael
Bloomberg steps onto the Democratic debate stage for the first time on
Wednesday, he will be ready to dismiss rivals like Joe Biden, who as
vice president made "speeches that somebody writes for him," and Pete
Buttigieg, "mayor of a town."
Bloomberg told Reuters in an interview earlier this month he would
contrast their experience to his success as billionaire chief executive
of global financial information and media company Bloomberg LP and
three-time mayor of New York City.
"None of them would know how to run a big organization," he said of the
seven other Democratic candidates seeking the nomination to challenge
Republican President Donald Trump in November.
Some of his rivals have made clear they see the televised debate as
their best opportunity to subject Bloomberg, who has been rising fast in
the polls, to greater public scrutiny.
He will face tough questions over his past support for policies that
have been widely criticized as racially discriminatory.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2020/Feb/18/images/ads/current/graue_20SILVERADO_021720.png)
He will also have to defend himself against the charge he is trying to
buy the election with his self-financed campaign. Public filings show he
spent $188 million of his own money through December.
"Bloomberg is spending an awful lot of money, but he has also not had
his turn in the barrel," Representative Cedric Richmond, a co-chair of
Biden's campaign, told reporters on a call on Feb. 12.
Bloomberg qualified for Wednesday's debate in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
Asked by Reuters how he would differentiate himself from his rivals in a
debate, Bloomberg said he would emphasize his experience as the former
mayor of America's biggest city and as the head of a large multinational
company.
As vice president under Barack Obama, Biden "reads speeches that
somebody writes for him," he said during a campaign stop in Compton,
California, on Feb 3. "That's the job. His job was not to manage but to
do some things the president needed done and for all I know he did a
competent job."
Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates countered that the former senator
oversaw Washington's stimulus program to counter the 2007-2008 financial
market crisis, among other things.
Bates also pointed to 2008 remarks by Bloomberg in which he tied the
collapse in the U.S. housing market that led to the crisis to a ban on a
discriminatory housing practice known as redlining.
"We're happy to talk about records," Bates said.
Bloomberg dismissed Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana,
as having limited experience, managing a city with roughly 100,000
people compared with New York's population of 8.4 million.
After winning the most delegates in Iowa and coming in second in New
Hampshire, Buttigieg is considered a front-runner.
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/021820pics/news_a1.jpg)
Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg speaks at a
campaign event in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S. February 13,
2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake
![](../images/ads/current/fitzpatrick_lda_SPONSOR_2017.png)
"He is the mayor of a town," Bloomberg said. "Let's not get too
carried away."
Buttigieg's campaign did not immediately respond to requests for
comment.
HARD QUESTIONS
Bloomberg, who only entered the race in November, is coming under
increasing scrutiny over his past support of a policing strategy he
employed in New York that ensnared blacks and Latinos
disproportionately.
He apologized for that policy, known as "stop and frisk," just
before announcing his candidacy.
He also faces questions over allegations of past sexist remarks. In
an interview with ABC's "The View" on Jan. 15, he said he regretted
having told "bawdy" jokes.
Bloomberg, worth an estimated $60 billion, is skipping the first
four nominating contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South
Carolina, and instead pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into a
national effort to start winning delegates in the 14 states that
vote on March 3.
The other Democrats expected on the Las Vegas stage - including
Biden and Buttigieg as well as U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders,
Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar - are eager to confront him in a
debate.
"He just can't hide behind the airwaves," Klobuchar told NBC's Meet
the Press on Sunday, commenting on Bloomberg's TV advertising. "He
has to answer questions and of course, I think he should be on that
debate stage."
Biden said on Thursday he would challenge Bloomberg on stop and
frisk and on redlining. Warren also attacked him on the redlining
comments.
Warren and Sanders have accused Bloomberg of trying to buy the
election and are almost certain to repeat that during the debate.
Bloomberg said polling suggests attacks on his money would fall flat
with voters.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2020/Feb/18/images/ads/current/ldn_sda_062409.png)
"They don't care about the money and when you say, you know, Mike
didn't inherit it, he earned it, (that's a) big plus," he told
Reuters on Feb. 3.
Sanders has bristled that Bloomberg is even allowed access to the
debate stage. The former mayor didn't qualify for Democratic debates
in December, January and early February.
But the party leadership changed the qualification rules, dropping
fundraising requirements that disqualified Bloomberg because he is
not accepting any contributions.
(Reporting by Jason Lange; Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt
in Las Vegas; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |