The Times said Bloomberg’s plan to spend $1 billion based on interviews with sources briefed on his plans but who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “I think I’d do very well against it”. Bloomberg is said to be more likely to enter the 2016 Presidential race if Trump wins the Republican nomination. Clinton addressed them during an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press”.
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Sanders said he is confident that if Bloomberg does jump into a race against him and Trump, U.S. voters will reject the two billionaires and elect him instead.
The prospect of Bloomberg launching a third-party presidential campaign has been speculated about for years.
Although Bloomberg will certainly have the funds and credentials to run a promising presidential campaign, the former mayor will undoubtedly face significant hurdles as an independent candidate late to the party.
“Mike Bloomberg for president rests on the not-impossible but somewhat unlikely circumstance of either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz versus Bernie Sanders”, said Rendell, a close ally of Clinton’s who is also a friend of Bloomberg’s. “I would love that competition”.
Sanders, a Democratic socialist and Vermont senator who is threatening Clinton in Iowa and New Hampshire, told ABC’s “This Week” program that Bloomberg’s entry into the race would add a second billionaire to the field. While Bloomberg has bounced around from party to party over his time in politics, many of his positions are significantly more attractive to Democrats than they are to Republicans.
Bloomberg appears to be considering those and other factors, according to the New York Times, and has set a deadline for reaching a decision of early March.
In all reality, a third-party bid from Bloomberg could do more to help than hurt Trump.
His aides have even reportedly put together an initial campaign plan for Bloomberg, billing him as a “technocratic problem-solver and self-made businessman” who understands the American economy can build bipartisan administrations, like the one he led in NY as mayor.
If voters are turned off by the leading Republican candidates and still on the fence about Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, Bloomberg could really tip the scales.
The sources said Bloomberg has already commissioned one poll to determine his fate against both Trump and Clinton – with another sampling slated after the February 9 New Hampshire primary.
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FILE – In this December 3, 2015, file photo, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks during the C40 cities awards ceremony, in Paris.
