Millionaire War: Is Michael Bloomberg a "danger" to Donald Trump?

Paula Lugones

02/19/2020 - 9:14

• Clarín.com
• World

They say in Washington that they asked the former mayor of New York, media mogul Michael Bloomberg , if he imagined a possible competition for the White House against another billionaire like Donald Trump. “Billionaires? I see only one, ”he replied wryly, highlighting just what hurts the president most: the size of his fortune (400 million), which looks minimal compared to the 64,000 million Bloomberg , the ninth richest person in the world , according to Forbes.

Trump, who does not abound in subtleties, quickly called Bloomberg as "Mini-Mike" , alluding to his 1.69 meter tall, and said that in past debates they had to reach him a bench to be at the presidential level 1.90 (yours). He also tweeted that, with his millions, the tycoon "was buying illegally" the Democratic nomination. Bloomberg spokeswoman Julie Woods denied about the bench and said Trump was a " pathological liar who lies above all: his fake hair, his obesity and his spray tan."

It is just a sample of the times that come in this election campaign that will end on November 3. It is that Bloomberg, without formally competing in the first two appointments of the internal democrat in Iowa and New Hampshire, has already been catapulted to third place in the national polls and became a threat not only to the Democrats but also to Trump.

Donald Trump called Bloomberg "mini Mike" because of his short stature. / Bloomberg

The 78-year-old Bloomberg joined the Democratic campaign only in November, almost a year after many of his competitors, with an original strategy: with an investment of $ 300 million so far in advertising, he will skip the election of 4 states He will only compete in the “Super Tuesday” on March 3, when 14 states vote together and the Democratic candidacy could be defined there.

According to an average of RealClearPolitics, Senator Bernie Sanders marches first nationally with 27.6 points; Joe Biden follows with 17.6 and then Bloomberg with 15.6. Further afield are Elizabeth Warren (12.6), Pete Buttigieg (10.2) and Amy Klobuchar (6.6). But if you look in detail, you can see that Biden is in a tailspin , since he has dropped 11 points in the last month, while Bloomberg climbed 5 points in the same period. An NPR poll even placed Bloomberg second, behind Biden.

Debut, under attack

By these polls, the magnate won the right to participate this Wednesday in the Democratic debate in Nevada, although he does not appear in the inmates of that state. It will be his debut and is expected to be attacked by his immediate competitors. In fact, Sanders already said that the Bloomberg campaign was an example of "oligarchy and not democracy."

Biden said he was eager to see him face-to-face because he couldn't compete with his millionaire advertising budget. Warren tweeted that in the debate people will be able to see how each one treats an "egomaniac billionaire" , alluding to Bloomberg and Trump.

The former mayor of New York goes back in the polls because, given the “socialist” alternative proposed by Sanders, it emerges as a “moderate” option before the fall of Biden , and as someone who can compete equally for Trump in the election general.

Michael Genovese, Professor of Political Science at Loyola Marymount University, told Clarin that “Bloomberg is Trump's strongest opponent today. The president fears a candidacy of the former mayor and for good reasons: he has a very solid record, a valuable experience, all the money he could want, and clearly challenges Trump. That Forbes magazine classify Bloomberg as the ninth richest on its list and Trump only reaches 275 is something that unnerves the president . ”

Taylor Dark, professor of Political Science at California State University, told Clarín that “Bloomberg is a possible alternative today” but that “the big problem is that a very large faction in the party, Sanders supporters and others in the wing Left, they don't want me to be nominated under any circumstances . Therefore, they can block it in the Democratic convention and choose another person. ”

Dark believes that Bloomberg “could beat Trump, but he has some important weaknesses. He is a former Jewish mayor of New York City and a billionaire. None of these attributes is particularly attractive to white working-class Americans in Deep America. If Biden were younger and more articulate in his speech, it would clearly be a better option, but his candidacy seems to fade away. ”

While national polls today show that both Sanders, Biden and Bloomberg could beat Trump, the US electoral system is complicated because, beyond the popular vote, it depends on the outcome in key states. In several of them, for now, the president is a favorite for re-election.

Washington, correspondent