Murdoch framed it this way: “With Trump becoming very serious candidate, it’s time for next billionaire candidate, Mike Bloomberg to step into ring”.
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The Australian billionaire’s apparent desire to draft Bloomberg – the Democrat-turned-independent who left office in 2013 and has sent no signals he’s interested in a 2016 White House bid – followed a tweet apparently indicating newfound respect for the bid of Donald Trump.
In a later tweet, Murdoch called Bloomberg “a great philanthropic executive”, who along with predecessor Rudy Giuliani, made New York City “the greatest”.
A few minutes later, Murdoch sent a tweet that clarified he wouldn’t vote for Bloomberg if he did run, but merely that he was a “friend I admire”.
After three terms as mayor, Bloomberg returned to run his news and information company, Bloomberg LP.
Murdoch’s political opinions are known to tilt conservative but, like Bloomberg’s, are more pragmatic than strictly partisan.
He’s additionally the chief chairman of Information Corp, which owns newspapers like The Wall Road Journal in addition to the Submit.
John Minchillo/AP Bloomberg (seen in October 2014) has given no indication that he’s running for president.
Murdoch wrote: “Is there a price for lifetime happiness for generous but bored, public spirited multibillionaire?”
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Coincidentally, New York magazine reported Sunday that Bloomberg recently said “through a spokesperson that he was not interested in buying” the Times.
