Former New York mayor and wealthy businessman Michael Bloomberg officially declared himself a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for the 2020 presidential election on Sunday, November 25. “I am a candidate to beat Donald Trump and rebuild America”, he wrote on his campaign site.
The 77-year-old billionaire had approached such a candidacy in recent weeks. In March, however, he had declared that he had given up standing. Another turnaround, then, as it comes months after the main candidates – Joe Biden, Elisabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders – have declared themselves.
On Sunday, he launched a television advertising campaign for a record $ 31 million, deemed undemocratic in advance by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who accused him of seeking to “Buy” the presidential election.
A fortune of 50 billion dollars
“We cannot afford President Trump’s thoughtless and unethical policies for four more years,” wrote Michael Bloomberg on his nomination paper, where he presents himself as the best opponent to the current occupant of the White House. “It represents an existential crisis for our country and our values. If he wins a new mandate, we couldn’t fix the damage he caused. ” Donald Trump, also a billionaire and in his seventies, had ruled that “Little Michael will fail” when rumors about his candidacy leaked.
Michael Bloomberg, founder of the financial news agency bearing his name, is one of the ten largest fortunes in the world, estimated at more than $ 50 billion (45 billion euros) by the magazine Forbes. Mayor of New York for twelve years, he spent millions supporting Democratic candidates in local elections. But in the past, he has claimed to be independent and even a Republican.
Having entered the campaign directly at the top of the polls in April, Joe Biden, the vice-president under Barack Obama, remains the favorite among the 17 candidates running for the Democratic primary, but he saw his lead largely eroded by Senator Elizabeth Warren, which worries Wall Street by its leftist positions. She is followed in the polls by Independent Senator Bernie Sanders and then, in fourth place, by centrist Pete Buttigieg.
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