Amy Klobuchar Rips Michael Bloomberg: ‘I Don’t Think You Can Just Waltz In’
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg‘s potential entry into the 2020 presidential race has already drawn criticism from some Democratic candidates, but Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Sunday tore into the multi-billionaire for believing he can “waltz in” to the race and steal everyone’s thunder.
According to Politico, Klobuchar — a moderate Democrat — offered up praise for some of Bloomberg’s policy ideas and accomplishments Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union, but said that she thinks he’s entering the race for the wrong reason — a reason she apparently takes offense to.
“I certainly welcome Mayor Bloomberg to the race. He’s done incredible work on gun safety, on environmental issues. And it is work of merit,” Klobuchar said.
“But I don’t think you just waltz in and say, instead of ‘I’m good enough to be president,’ your argument is the other people aren’t good enough — that is not how we’ve been conducting these debates.”
Like several of her Democratic opponents, Klobuchar railed on Bloomberg’s wealth and the obvious advantage he would have at the starting gate should he formally enter the race, drawing a comparison to President Donald Trump who used part of his fortune to run in the 2016 Republican primary.
“When people look at the White House and see this multi-millionaire, — including, by the way, independents and moderate Republicans — and now he’s messing up so many things, I don’t think they say, ‘Oh, we need someone richer,'” Klobuchar said.
The Minnesota senator — who according to state and national polls has struggled to find much traction for her presidential campaign — defended her 2020 rivals against Bloomberg’s implication that the field doesn’t have a strong enough contender to take down Trump come November 2020.
Morning Consult – Democratic national poll:
Biden 31 (-1)
Sanders 20 (-)
Warren 18 (-2)
Buttigieg 8 (+1)
Harris 6 (+1)
Bloomberg 4 (+4)
Yang 3 (-)
Booker 2 (-)
Klobuchar 2 (-)Bloomberg jumps right into the middle before his campaign even begins… going to get interesting. pic.twitter.com/eXoyyC2BKD
— Your Friendly Neighborhood Numbersmuncher (@NumbersMuncher) November 10, 2019
Klobuchar has insisted in past debates that her Midwestern roots given her the strongest chance of garnering voters on both sides of the political aisle. She also said she would happily debate Bloomberg on that subject, but not if he enters the race because he believes nobody in the current field has what it takes.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, new revelations indicate that Klobuchar might not even have the chance to debate Bloomberg, as his filing for the Alabama Democratic primary on Friday and rumors surrounding his potential entry into the race might have simply been a trial to take voters’ collective temperature on the prospect of his candidacy, sources close to his campaign reportedly indicated.
Should he officially announce, he would likely pose the greatest threat to current front-runner and former Vice President Joe Biden, along with Pete Buttigieg — both of whom are the leading moderate Democratic candidates.
