Michael Bloomberg has made it official: the former Mayor of New York City, who has been laying the groundwork for a possible 2020 presidential campaign for the past few weeks, officially announced his candidacy on Sunday, The Hollywood Reporter reports.
“I’m running for president to defeat Donald Trump and rebuild America,” Bloomberg wrote on his website.
For the past few weeks, Bloomberg had been dropping hints that he was eyeing his party’s nomination for President in 2020. In early October, after having previously said that he wouldn’t be running, he said that he was still open to the idea of running, but only if Joe Biden would drop out. Then again on November 7, Bloomberg announced that he was “taking steps” to enter the race; and on November 8, he began submitting paperwork.
Now that he’s officially in, Bloomberg said on his campaign’s website that his number one goal is getting Donald Trump out of the White House, and undoing the damage that he’s done.
“We cannot afford four more years of President Trump’s reckless and unethical actions. He represents an existential threat to our country and our values. If he wins another term in office, we may never recover from the damage. The stakes could not be higher. We must win this election. And we must begin rebuilding America,” he said.
As for the areas in which he intends to help rebuild, Bloomberg lays out on his website his top priorities: the economy, which Bloomberg claims is “tilted” against most Americans; the flaws in the health care system; gun violence; education; immigration; and climate change, among others.
“I offer myself as a doer and a problem solver – not a talker. And as someone who is ready to take on the tough fights – and win,” he said.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , Bloomberg has promised not to accept campaign donations, saying that he can’t be “bought.” As one of the ten wealthiest men in the world, with an estimated net worth of $58 billion, he can afford to do that.
As detailed in The Hollywood Reporter , Bloomberg has promised to spend at least $150 million on his 2020 campaign, of which he intends to spend more than $100 million for internet ads attacking Trump. Another $15 -$20 million is slated for a voter registration campaign intended at getting minority voters to the polls. Another $30 million will go towards an initial round of television ads.
He may yet spend more: Bloomberg’s senior adviser Howard Wolfson has already promised that Bloomberg will spend “whatever it takes to defeat Donald Trump.”
