Former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg confirms he is considering independent bid for US presidency
Billionaire businessman is reportedly alarmed by the rise of Donald Trump on the extreme right wing of the Republican Party and troubled by Hillary Clinton’s lurch to the left.
Michael Bloomberg, the former New York mayor and billionaire media owner, has stated for the first time that he is considering launching a White House bid this year.
The move would thoroughly upend a presidential race that has already kicked into high gear, as Republicans and Democrats battle it out for prominence in Tuesday’s crucial New Hampshire primary.
Bloomberg, who mulled running in previous elections and has criticised the quality of debate in the 2016 race, told the Financial Times he was “looking at all options” when asked whether he was considering throwing his hat in the ring.
I find the level of discourse and discussion distressingly banal and an outrage and an insult to the voters
“I find the level of discourse and discussion distressingly banal and an outrage and an insult to the voters,” he said, adding that Americans deserved “a lot better.”
The comments came after The New York Times reported last month that Bloomberg had instructed advisers to draft plans for a potential independent presidential bid that could see him spend at least US$1 billion of his estimated US$40 billion fortune.
Associates told The Times late last month that Bloomberg was alarmed by the rise of Donald Trump on the extreme right wing of the Republican Party and troubled by Hillary Clinton’s lurch to the left in a bid to contain self-described democratic socialist Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Bloomberg, 73, is the founder of the eponymous financial news agency. His estimated net worth far exceeds that of Trump, a billionaire real estate magnate whose fortune Forbes magazine puts at US$4.5 billion.