Bloomberg gets fiery reception from rivals
Latecomer to fray takes flak over wealth, mayoral record in Democratic debate
The fireworks started immediately between Michael Bloomberg and the five other Democratic presidential candidates on the stage for the ninth 2020 Democratic presidential debate on Wednesday in Las Vegas.
The former New York mayor and multibillionaire, who had his 78th birthday last week, got an earful from US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, also 78, but five months older than Bloomberg.
“In order to beat Donald Trump, we’re going to need the largest voter turnout in the United States,” Sanders said, adding that “stop and frisk” is “not a way you’re going to grow voter turnout”.
He was referring to a controversial New York Police Department policy when Bloomberg was mayor in which mostly African-American and Hispanic young men were stopped by police in searches for illegal guns. Bloomberg recently disavowed the policy.
Sanders dominated in floor time in the first hour of the debates, often in his signature booming voice.
“I don’t think there’s any chance of the senator beating Donald Trump,” Bloomberg countered.
“If he (Sanders) is the candidate, we will have Donald Trump for another four years.”
US Senator Elizabeth Warren said there is “a billionaire who calls women fat broads” running for the
White House. “I am not talking about Donald Trump. I am talking about Michael Bloomberg,” she said, adding that Democrats would take a “huge risk if we just substitute one arrogant billionaire for another”.
Bloomberg also was challenged on the issue of nondisclosure agreements, or NDAs, signed by women in sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits against his financial news company.
“We are not going to beat Trump with a man who has who knows how many NDAs with women,” Warren said.
Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, 59, said she was “not going to step aside for a campaign memo” in reference to a release she said the Bloomberg team put out to get other Democrats to drop out so Bloomberg could challenge Sanders on his own.
‘The only one’
“Two questions,” offered Bloomberg. “Who can beat Donald Trump? Who can do the job if they get into the White House?”
Bloomberg said he was the only one qualified to do both.
“I’m a New Yorker. I know how to take on an arrogant con man like Donald Trump,” he said. “I knew what to do after 9/11. I’m a philanthropist who didn’t inherit his money.”
“In terms of who is best prepared to beat Donald Trump, look at your poll,” chimed in former US vicepresident Joe Biden, 77.
Pete Buttigieg, 38, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, let loose some memorable one-liners early on: “Let’s put forward someone who is actually a Democrat,” in a barb against Bloomberg and Sanders.
He said one candidate (Sanders) “wants to burn the party down”, another (Bloomberg) wants to “buy it out”.
Bloomberg maintained his composure despite the incessant attacks, and he probably solidified his reputation as a manager.
When the issue of Sanders’ health came up, he motioned toward Bloomberg, saying, “We both have two stents”, in reference to a common heart procedure.
When Buttigieg brought up a story about a hospitality workers union in Nevada criticizing Sanders’ Medicare for all plan — and the alleged subsequent attacks on the union by Sanders supporters, Sanders replied: “We have more union support than you’ve ever dreamed of.”
One of the more tense moments of the debate came when Klobuchar was asked by moderator Vanessa Hauc, a correspondent for Spanishlanguage news program Noticias Telemundo, how she could not know the name of the Mexican president (Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador), in a previous interview with Telemundo.
When Buttigieg singled her out, in a reprise of a former debate showdown they had over each other’s qualifications, Warren jumped in to defend Klobuchar: “I understand that she forgot a name. It happens. I just think this is unfair.”
Bloomberg showed command of numbers on climate change as the second hour of the debate opened.