Joe Biden Not Worried About Michael Bloomberg Entering 2020 Race: ‘I’m Pretty Far Ahead’
Though he has held a comfortable lead in a vast majority of polls since announcing his candidacy earlier this year, former Vice President Joe Biden didn’t seem worried in the least after he was asked about the prospect of New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg eyeing up the 2020 race for the White House.
According to The Hill, Biden on Friday all but dismissed news that Bloomberg filed the appropriate paperwork to beat the deadline to become a candidate in the Alabama Democratic primary — a move that many believe is the precursor to Bloomberg’s eventual entrance into the crowded field of Democratic candidates.
“I welcome him in the race,” Biden said while in New Hampshire. “Michael’s a solid guy, and let’s see where it goes. I have no problems with him getting into the race.”
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, some have speculated that Bloomberg — a centrist on the political scale — is heavily considering joining the fray due to Biden’s seeming fall from his once-dominant position among the entire Democratic field. Progressive candidates like Sen. Bernie Sanders and especially Sen. Elizabeth Warren — who has experienced a consistent surge — have made the race a lot closer than what it was just a few months ago.
But Biden’s confidence wasn’t shaken, as he explained to reporters that not only does he welcome Bloomberg to the race, but he’s secure enough with where his campaign is to feel like he’s still the best shot at taking down President Donald Trump in 2020.
“In terms of he’s running because of me, the last polls I looked at, I’m pretty far ahead,” Biden said. “If I’m not mistaken, I’m doing pretty well both relative to [President] Trump and relative to all the people running in the Democratic primary.”
It was only in March that Bloomberg vowed he wouldn’t enter the 2020 presidential election. but warned at the time that whomever the Democrats choose as the nominee shouldn’t be too far to the left on a policy level that it alienates Democratic voters who might not be comfortable.
Howard Wolfson, one of Bloomberg’s advisers, explained that the billionaire businessman is concerned that the more progressive candidates might end up winning the day.
“We now need to finish the job and ensure that Trump is defeated — but Mike is increasingly concerned that the current field of candidates is not well positioned to do that,” Wolfson tweeted earlier this week.
Bloomberg’s camp may be on to something, as a recent poll from The New York Times/Siena College revealed that within six crucial battleground states, Democratic voters favored a centrist candidate who ultimately could have a better chance at working with Republicans on the issues.
