Biden: I’ll beat Bloomberg
Joe Biden has thrown down the gauntlet to Michael Bloomberg, urging the billionaire to ‘‘get in and run’’ for the Democrat presidential nomination, and vowing to beat him.
Bloomberg, 77, the former mayor of New York City, sent shock waves through the party last week by indicating his intention to stand, partly because of his concerns over front-runner Biden’s stuttering campaign.
Many Democrats warned a Bloomberg candidacy risked a split in the party’s moderate wing between the media mogul and Biden, potentially clearing the path for the liberal standard bearer, Elizabeth Warren, to become the nominee.
Biden said: ‘‘Look, if he [Bloomberg] wants to run, he should just get in and run.
Michael’s a solid guy. I have no problem with him being in the race.’’ But he added: ‘‘In terms of he’s running because of me, the last polls I looked at, I’m pretty far ahead. If I’m not mistaken, I’m doing pretty well both relative to Trump, and relative to all the people running in the -Democratic primary. Look at all the polls. I’m leading across the board. And so, I don’t quite get this.’’
Bloomberg filed paperwork to get his name on the ballot in Alabama, the state with the first registration
Saturday.
He also rang Tom Vilsack, the former Democrat governor of Iowa and a key power broker in the state, which is the first to vote on February 3.
Following the call, Vilsack said: ‘‘He is in.’’ He said Bloomberg told him ‘‘it was true he is running’’.
Bloomberg’s advisers indicated his main motivation was that he believes Trump represented an existential threat to the United States. He has previously called Trump a ‘‘con’’ and a ‘‘dangerous demagogue.’’
Howard Wolfson, an adviser to Bloomberg, told the Washington Post: ‘‘He woke up and said, ‘Oh my God, Donald Trump is going to be re-elected – I better run for president.’’’
It is believed a trigger for Bloomberg’s late move was recent polling showing Trump deadline, on highly competitive in key swing states against all the current Democrat candidates, including Biden – despite being in the midst of an impeachment crisis.
The president also has a vastly bigger campaign war chest than all the current Democrat hopefuls. As America’s eighthrichest man with a fortune of more than US$50 billion (NZ$80b), Bloomberg would be able to outspend him.
Anthony Scaramucci, Trump’s former White House communications director, said there was ‘‘no question he [Bloomberg] would be the number one threat’’ to Trump.
Scaramucci said: ‘‘I think the president will be very intimidated. He [Bloomberg] is a New Yorker, he can withstand the onslaught of the president’s bullying. He’s worth probably five to eight times the president’s net worth.’’