Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg took aim at his fellow billionaire, calling Donald Trump “a risky demagogue” during a speech on the third night of the Democratic National Convention. “Trump says he wants to run the nation like he’s running his business?”. But at a time when some supporters of Bernie Sanders talk openly about not supporting Clinton-and apathy for her campaign more broadly threatens to doom her candidacy-Bloomberg pleaded with independents and disillusioned Democrats not to make the ideal the enemy of the good.
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But, he went on, “Whatever our differences may be, I have come here to say we must put them aside for the good of our country”. “We’ve heard a lot of talk about needing a leader who understands business. God help us”, Bloomberg said, to huge cheers from the crowd.
“There could be no more effective witness against Donald Trump as a businessman than Michael Bloomberg”, Democratic consultant Robert Shrum told Newsday.
Disclosure: Donald Trump is the father-in-law of Jared Kushner, publisher of Observer Media.
Bloomberg, who served as New York Mayor from 2002-2013, was first active in the Democratic Party until 2000, and then joined the Republicans before eventually becoming an independent. On Thursday, he said he’d been been thinking of striking back. And Bloomberg made dire predictions about the damage a Trump presidency would wreak on virtually every aspect of American life.
The GOP nominee on Sunday once again slammed the former New York City mayor, accusing him of cutting a deal with Hillary Clinton for a job or cabinet position in a prospective Democratic White House.
“To me, this election is not a choice between a Democrat and a Republican”, Bloomberg concluded.
Author and columnist Ann Coulter’s cheeky tweet directed folks to an unflattering story about Bloomberg: “Michael Bloomberg makes powerful case for cheap immigrant labor as groundskeepers on his golf courses”.
His speech was different from those delivered by others tonight not just because he was the only one with enough cash to criticize Trump from the perspective of an even richer person-it featured much less Clinton cheerleading.
The former mayor’s fortune dwarves Trump’s.
Bloomberg, an independent, said that he was not appearing at the convention to endorse any party or platform, but he endorsed Hillary Clinton.
“Hillary Clinton understands this isn’t reality television”, he said.
“There are times when I disagree with Hillary”, Bloomberg admitted. “Because of my success in the private sector, I had the chance to run America’s largest city for 12 years”.
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And her worldwide experience in political office as a “sane, competent person” was thrown into sharp contrast with Mr Trump’s reported political and business dishonesty.
