The first Jewish president? Bloomberg storms the White House with a lot of money - and little support

He has poured more than $ 100 million into advertisements in less than a month, but everyone thinks the New York mayor and one of the world's wealthiest have no chance of defeating his Democratic rivals - but pro-Israeli Bloomberg is convinced he can only defeat Trump. "Most Americans are in the middle." profile

The first Jewish president? Bloomberg storms the White House with a lot of money - and little support

It is impossible to open television in the United States in the last month without encountering Michael Bloomberg. At the cessation of the commercials of one of the national cable channels or one of the regional stations, at one point the image of the former mayor of New York, who decided in the 90th minute, just before the start of the primaries season, who has a chance to become the Democratic presidential candidate. He is trying to do what he currently seems to have a slim chance of persuading voters to give him their votes, despite joining the race very late.

As of Wednesday this week, he has already crossed the $ 100 million threshold for television advertising. All that money has been poured only since he entered the race, on November 25th. These are imaginary sums, certainly in the party primaries, and a huge gap from the rest of the candidates, except for another billionaire nominee, Tom Steer, whose chances are slim. But is the undetectable waste of money on awareness a guarantee of success?

Crossed the $ 100 million bar for television advertising. Bloomberg (Photo: AP)

Michael Bloomberg at a campaign event in Virginia, November 25, 2019 (Photo: AP)

He will be celebrating his 78th birthday soon, and just three months ago ruled out contending on the grounds that such a move would split the moderate Democrats' votes between him and former Vice President Joe Biden, but eventually decided to go for it with all his might. With $ 55 billion worth of capital, one of the world's richest people doesn't seem too bothered by the possibility that the money spent on advertising will go down the drain if he is not elected.

This isn't the first time he's flirting with this idea. He considered it in 2016, and his acquaintances say that the idea was in his mind ever since.

"He studied at Johns Hopkins University and realized that he very much loved being a manager. At that age, the idea of ​​becoming a president was fascinating to him. If someone stung him, he would tell him 'Don't talk about the first Jewish president like that'," she told Walla! NEWS Eleanor Randolph, a journalist and longtime writer, who has followed Bloomberg for 20 years as a member of the New York Times Editorial Board. She is also the author of the biography "Michael Bloomberg's Many Lives," which was published this year.

"After becoming mayor, he wanted to be at the center of the national arena one way or another," she added. "He told us in March that he wasn't going to run for president because he didn't see the numbers converge. But recently, around October, his people did a poll and found that none of the candidates could beat (Trump) in big states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. So he He decided it was time for him to run. He always wanted to run. I don't know what his chances were, it looked like a steep hill climb, but I thought it was hopeless in 2001 when he ran for mayor. "

Trump will not allow journalist Bloomberg to cover him

A poll by Bloomberg's people found that no candidate could beat the president. Trump (Photo: AP)

US President Trump at White House, December 13, 2019 (Photo: AP)

Bloomberg's premise is clear, and he does not hide it: Biden, the establishment candidate reflecting the central wing of the party, has trouble opening a significant gap to his rivals from the progressive wing, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. While he is still the leading candidate, the other two remain close to him and the fourth-place candidate, Pete Buttagej may also surprise and record achievements in the first states to hold primaries in February. If Biden, who often stumbles in his language and seems unfocused, continues to lose height, the party's moderate voters will look for an alternative.

Bloomberg may have unlimited resources, but building a logistics infrastructure is time-consuming. Warren, Sanders, and Biden, have long been deployed nationwide, with headquarters in 50 states. With volunteers, with a neat pool of supporters who follow them in fire and water. The primaries season opens in 60 days, and Bloomberg is not contending in the first four states where primaries will be held, realizing they are lost. He is focusing his attention on Big Tuesday, the day one-third of voters participate, hoping to gain momentum and tip the scales.

Born in Boston in 1942 to a Jewish family, he maintains a middle-class kosher service. He studied engineering at Johns Hopkins University and later completed his MBA from Harvard. At 24, he began his first job on Wall Street. His big break was in 1981, with the startup he created - Bloomberg LP. Up until that point, it was very difficult to get market information about the market, and this created a distrust between buyers and investors. His initiative was to create a computerized database that would provide real-time information. Later, also opened a news agency that embraces a world with 2,700 employees.

Two decades after he founded the company, and after becoming a billionaire, Bloomberg began to get bored and decided to try his luck in politics. In 2001, he ran for the Republican Party candidate and was elected mayor of New York just weeks after the 9/11 attacks. He served for three consecutive terms. Even then, like today, not many gave him a real chance.

"When he was thinking of running for mayor, he invited many people to dinner at his house, and for one of those dinners he invited me and my husband," she told Walla! NEWS Joyce Farnick, author of biography "Mike Bloomberg: Money, Power, Politics." Like Randolph, she also worked as a journalist for decades in New York, including the New York Times and the New York Post, and got to know who would later become mayor. "In the late '90s, he told me he did everything he could with his company, he was already very rich, and that people were telling him that getting into politics was the most exciting and helpful thing he could do. And he decided he wanted to do something new," She added.

"I was really unimpressed," she said of her first encounter with Bloomberg at his home. "I thought he was stiff, not charming at all. He had no strengths. I didn't think he had charisma. I thought he had no chance of winning and the idea he ran was funny. But I was wrong. He ran and he won, and the rest is history," she adds. "If he loses, his reputation and heritage will be damaged. I suppose the fact that he is 78 and that his last chance to contend has weight in the decision."

"He is not impulsive. He does not take big bets. He is careful. He does not do anything unless he thinks he has a chance to succeed. I say that because I think his reviewers convinced him he had the chance to win the candidacy. "He knows him well enough to believe he thinks he has a way to win. He doesn't go crazy for risks. He wants to know that what he does can succeed."

Randolph said she also doubted him when he entered politics. "I first met him in 2001, when I was on the New York Times editorial board and interviewed for mayoral candidates," she said. "I thought he wouldn't go anywhere. I was one of those people who doubted him and thought he couldn't defeat the Democratic candidate that year. We thought - another hopeless mayor. We announced support for the opposite candidate. The city had a good campaign funding method and Bloomberg bypassed Her with his money - the money made us worried. " Randolph added: "We didn't like the mix of money and politics. He made one of the worst speeches I ever heard, no one counted him."

When Bloomberg was elected mayor, skeptics gradually changed their minds. "We doubted him. Then, when he won, it suddenly made sense," Randolph admitted.

Kept the minorities away

As mayor, Bloomberg led the city's reconstruction efforts on all fronts: He founded a counter-terrorism unit in the New York Police Department with more than a thousand police officers, and led a 32 percent reduction in crime in the city during his 12 years in office. This situation allowed the city to evolve as many areas that were previously considered unsafe have become attractive. On the other hand, during his tenure, a controversial practice was introduced as a result of which the police arrested people randomly for physical searches on the street in search of weapons or drugs.

In 2002, 91,000 searches were carried out on the street, but by 2011 the number had already skyrocketed to up to 685,000 people arrested for searching, with 88% of them released without being found. Opponents of the initiative claimed that it was racially focused on minorities and that it did not lead to a decline in robbery and violent crimes. Bloomberg refused to quit the plan despite protests in front of his home, saying it saved lives.

"It really alienated the black and Hispanic community," says Randolph. "It is impossible to win without a minority vote and this search practice is probably his biggest burden."

"You can't win without a minority vote." New York Police Department physical search policy demonstration (Photo: AP)

New York Police Department physical search policy demonstration (Photo: AP)

The presidential race requires the various candidates to try and be fond of people from all over America. Pictures of Biden roasting hot dogs or boutiques making burgers at a Iowa or New Hampshire community fair are commonplace. But does the billionaire Bloomberg have the ability to connect with the average person?

"Definitely not like Biden," Joyce Fernick said. "Biden has the ability to connect with the workers. I don't think Bloomberg can connect with the average person. He's not a great candidate. He doesn't have as much flexibility and charisma and he knows it. He won't be able to connect with the average person like the other candidates."

Randolph, on the other hand, believes that Bloomberg is better off in one-on-one meetings over public speaking. "He knows how to talk to people directly better than making a speech. He's a salesman, he's really good at it. When people meet him, they tend to like him. He says what he thinks, and it drives his consultants crazy."

"Ability to connect with workers." Biden (Photo: Image Bank GettyImages)

Joe Biden launches his biography at an Iowa election event, December 7, 2019 (Photo: GettyImages)

In the meantime, since entering the race, the only issue that has managed to bring Bloomberg to the headlines is the guidance from his own news agency, "Bloomberg," to journalists employed not to conduct investigations on the owner or other Democratic candidates, but to continue investigating President Trump. The White House, in response, announced that it would stop allowing Bloomberg writings into the president's campaign events.
"Mini-Mike Bloomberg instructed his inferior news organization not to question him or the Democrats, just me," Trump tweeted stubbornly at Bloomberg's low stature, but the candidate did not back down from his position.

"I don't know if I get the (Mini-Mike) nickname, but people said to me, 'How can you question yourself?' "And I don't think it is possible. With the reporters' salary slip in Bloomberg, there are some limitations," Bloomberg said.

Margaret Sullivan, a regular columnist for the Washington Post, has published a staunch article against the decision titled "Michael Bloomberg stabbed the journalist heart of his news organization." Talking to Walla! NEWS She said the candidate's decision was unacceptable.

"When a particular issue is off limits, especially coverage of a presidential race, it's very problematic," she said. "The second part of it is that he says the organization will continue to conduct investigations against Trump. It's not like they said they will no longer cover politics. The Trump administration has decided not to give Bloomberg reporters entry permits. You can understand their point of view - 'They're not going to check Democrats, but will they test us? "" She said, "This is not a positive development for Bloomberg's reputation as a news agency."

"For him, it's not about politics"

As one of the 20 richest people in the world, he is far from the socialist positions of Warren and Sanders. It represents a more central stream in the party, and closer in its positions to Biden. "I'm missing an actual party," he told CBS in an interview. "My fiscal stance is moderate. I grew up in Massachusetts and then in New York, where there are no Republicans. I couldn't be the Democratic mayor. Republicans told me 'You can run as a Republican.' I believe most Americans are in the middle."

"He's a pragmatist. He doesn't like the restrictions that politics has," Randolph said. "Now he's showing an interest in Democrats to defeat Trump. For him, it's not about politics, it's about how things happen."

Far from its socialist positions. Warren (Photo: Image Bank GettyImages)

Elizabeth Warren at an election conference in Manchester, New Hampshire, December 12, 2019 (Photo: GettyImages)

He also plans to fund his own race, with no fundraising campaigns. His decision to rely solely on his pocket has been widely criticized by the other candidates who claim he is trying to "buy the race".

"I don't buy (the election)," he said in an interview with CBS. "I do exactly what they do only they use other people's money that they expect for something in return, while I can't buy," he replied. "Their argument is that it's okay if they ask for money from other people to help their careers, as opposed to the person making the money himself - and I donate almost all of my money to the causes I believe in - like public health, education, the arts, the environment, things I care about. I think I can do well for the state if I choose the president. To use some of that money to fund the campaign, that's fine. I don't come from money. Nobody gave me a lump sum. Send me to a public education system and teach me hard work. "

He has a well-developed environmental agenda and has worked to preserve green space as mayor, but even after returning to his private business. In 2017, he wrote the book "climate of hope", which talks about the need to fight the climate crisis, and even served as a UN envoy on climate issues. He is considered a strong critic of President Trump's environmental policy and criticized him for withdrawing from the Paris agreement. Significant about carrying weapons, and supporting the Everytown for Gun Safety initiative, and also considered a staunch opponent of smoking, with a focus on youth, and contributed great resources to the issue.

Relations with Israel

Bloomberg is Jewish and has pro-Israeli positions, and in 2014 even won the first "Genesis" award. "It is a great honor for me to be the first winner of the Genesis Award," he said at the time. "Many years ago, my parents instilled in me the Jewish morals and values ​​that I carry with me throughout my life and which have accompanied every step of my work - in business, government and philanthropy." The $ 1 million prize, he donated to the Entrepreneurship Competition.

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein said at the time: "The election of Mayor Bloomberg as the winner of the First Genesis Award reflects his public service receipts and his standing as one of the world's greatest philanthropists. As a visionary entrepreneur, he changed the way the world runs business and created a more open and up-to-date world. He is also known for his support of Israel and is proud of his Jewish identity and heritage. "

Jewish and pro-Israeli positions. Bloomberg in Sderot, 2009 (Photo: AP)

Michael Bloomberg visits Sderot, 2009 (Photo: AP)

Later that year, in the midst of Operation Cliff Eitan, he landed again in Israel, despite the massive shooting toward the center cities. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appreciated the fact that Bloomberg landed in the country at such a sensitive time, while many events were canceled and artists canceled their arrival in Israel, and Ben Gurion even closed for a short time, and traveled to the airport to greet him.

Netanyahu then thanked Bloomberg for landing despite the timing, saying he was "both a friend and a man of principles and a man of truth." Bloomberg then said: "This is the only democratic state in this part of the world, a true democracy, a place where everyone has the freedom to express themselves, to obey his religion wherever he chooses to do so. For Ben-Gurion Airport, it is the safe airport Most of the world to fly from and to. It is a country that has been under threat since its founding in 1948 when the United Nations established it as the national home of the Jewish people. And the Israelis know best of all how to maintain security. "

It was not the only time he came to express support for Israel in the midst of a security crisis. In 2009, in the middle of Operation Cast Lead, when hundreds of rockets were fired into the southern cities, Bloomberg came to express solidarity and toured Sderot. During the tour, a "red color" warning sounded and he had to enter a protected area. "Let's not overstate the risk posed to me," he told the New York Times after being led into the protected area. "The risks are to people's lives in Sderot, their homes and their businesses." He also visited Israeli wounded in hospitals.

What the polls say

The first polls published after Bloomberg's announcement of his intention to run do not bode well for him. A University of Monmouth poll released on Wednesday showed that 54% of voters did not like him while only 26% said they considered it positive. Two polls released this week place him in fifth place, after South Bend Mayor, Indiana, Buttigej.

"Our life in America is like in 'Alisa in Wonderland,' everything is the opposite," said Joyce Fernick. "The usual predictions don't hold. I wouldn't think Trump would be president. So I can't predict Bloomberg's prospects. Honestly, I don't think he'll be the candidate, but I've learned not to predict anymore."