Michael Bloomberg

[[File:Michael R Bloomberg.jpg|thumb|165px|Bloomberg in 2007, before he somehow aged eleven years in a mere six.]]{{uspolitics}}{{expand}}
'''Michael R. Bloomberg''' {{lived|1942}} is a 
[[Democrat]]
 
[[Republican]]
 
independent
 [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], the 12<sup>th</sup> richest man in the [[United States]], and was the 108<sup>th</sup> Mayor of [[New York City]] from 2002 to 2013. His annual salary as mayor was $1.<ref>[http://nymag.com/guides/salary/14497/index4.html Who Makes How Much], ''New York Magazine''</ref>

Bloomberg attended Johns Hopkins University (where there is now a Bloomberg School of Public Health) and Harvard University before being elected mayor of New York in November 2001. He is also a well-known [[charity|philanthropist]] and [[business|businessman]]. He started Bloomberg LP in 1981 and even has his own [[news]] channel.

There was speculation about a possible bid for the [[2008 U.S. presidential election]]. He said no. There was also speculation that he would try to run for Governor of [[New York]] in 2010. He said no. There was some more speculation that he would seek the presidency in [[2012 U.S. presidential election|2012]]. He said no. Then there was even ''more'' speculation that he would seek the presidency in [[2016 U.S. presidential election|2016]].<ref>[http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/michael-bloomberg-run-president-thought-win-article-1.1796955 Stop it!]</ref> He said no… again.<ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-03-07/michael-bloomberg-says-he-won-t-run-for-president-in-2016 Bloomberg says he won't run for President in 2016.]</ref> He finally threw his hat in the ring in [[2020 US presidential election|2020]]...and promptly made people wonder why people had spent 12 years hyping up Bloomberg in the first place.<ref>Goldenberg, Sally. [https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/24/michael-bloomberg-campaign-2020-president-073271 "Michael Bloomberg launches campaign for president."] ''Politico'', 24 November 2019 (recovered 24 November 2019).</ref>

==Head-scratching attempts at bipartisanship==
Bloomberg seemingly cannot make up his mind any more than he can make up his mind about which [[political party]] he is a member of. His mayoralty saw a list of policies arguably more diverse than the demographics of the city he was mayor of:

*On the [[liberal]] side, he's [[pro-choice]], opposes the [[death penalty]], supports [[stem cell research]], [[same-sex marriage]], and [[gun control]], didn't suck up to the [[Park51]] hysteria, is staunchly [[Immigration|pro-immigration reform]] and drastically expanded funding on [[education]], [[global warming]] mitigation, and [[poverty|affordable housing]]. Balanced budgets were achieved by a series of [[tax]] increases, something even many Democrats can't do. He also made a big push for public health, to the point of trying to ban large soda containers from restaurants — something that has earned him no end of ribbing from the likes of [[The Daily Show|Jon Stewart]].<ref>[http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-june-7-2012/jon-stewart-tries-to-figure-out-what-he-s-allowed-to-put-in-his-mouth Jon Stewart compares the discrepancy] between the state of New York's [[marijuana]] liberalization and Bloomberg's crackdown on large soft drinks.</ref> He supported [[Obama]] in 2012 and [[Hillary Clinton|Clinton]] in 2016.<ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-01/ny-mayor-bloomberg-endorse-obama-in-presidential-race.html NY Mayor Bloomberg Endorses Obama in Presidential Race], Bloomberg</ref><ref>https://www.mikebloomberg.com/news/why-im-endorsing-hillary-clinton-for-president/</ref>
*On the [[conservative]] side, he is staunchly anti-[[Trade union|union]],<ref>(December 21, 2005). [https://www.democracynow.org/2005/12/21/mayor_bloomberg_condemns_new_york_city "Mayor Bloomberg Condemns New York City Transit Strike, MTA Workers Hold Firm"]. ''Democracy Now!''</ref><ref>Michael Sainato (February 20, 2020). [https://prospect.org/labor/michael-bloomberg-troubling-record-unions-workers/ "Michael Bloomberg's Troubling Record on Unions and Workers"]. ''The American Prospect''.</ref> advocated for [[Dubya]]'s re-election in [[2004 U.S. Presidential Election|2004]] and the extension of the [[PATRIOT Act]], whined about the end of the [[Iraq War]], backpedalled on ending the [[War on Drugs]], and opposed the [[Affordable Care Act]] in 2010.<ref>Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck (February 16, 2020). [https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/16/politics/kfile-bloomberg-called-obamacare-a-disgrace/index.html "Mike Bloomberg in 2010 called Obamacare legislation 'a disgrace' and 'another program that’s going to cost a lot of money'"]. ''CNN''.</ref> He was also a massive proponent of [[Stop and Frisk]] policy during his time as mayor.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/michael-bloomberg-stop-and-frisk-keeps-new-york-safe/2013/08/18/8d4cd8c4-06cf-11e3-9259-e2aafe5a5f84_story.html Michael Bloomberg: "Stop and frisk" keeps New York safe] ''The Washington Post''. August 18, 2013.</ref><ref>Erin Durkin (July 23, 2013). [https://www.nydailynews.com/2013/07/23/mayor-bloomberg-vetoes-stop-and-frisk-bills/ "Mayor Bloomberg Vetoes Stop And Frisk Bills"]. ''New York Daily News''. Quote: "Bloomberg slapped his veto on measures to create an NYPD inspector general and allow people to sue over racial profiling by cops that he has charged would be a boon to criminals and terrorists."</ref>

This mixing of left and right-wing politics gets more confusing in regards to [[economics]] (i.e., defending [[welfare]] and fiscal moderacy at a [[Tory]] conference<ref>[http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2007b%2Fpr348-07.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1 "Being a fiscal conservative is not about slashing programs that help the poor, or improve health care, or ensure a social safety net…"]</ref> despite his cozying up to certain embarrassing financial institutions<ref>[http://www.salon.com/2012/03/16/mayor_bloomberg_personally_cheers_up_goldman_sachs/ What do you think?]</ref><ref>Bloomberg [http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/11/01/358482/bloomberg-mortgage-crisis/# peddles the "Fannie and Freddie caused 2008" myth]</ref> and opposing an early version of the Zadroga Bill because "[[welfare queen|there's no free lunch]]"<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/15/nyregion/15benefits.html?_r=1&oref=slogin Pataki Signs Law Increasing Death Benefits for Ground Zero Workers], ''The New York Times''</ref>). Basically, WTFs all round, and in the post-[[Great Recession|recession]] era, his opinion polling took some hits.<ref>[http://theweek.com/article/index/249332/a-better-new-york-city-6-smart-takes-on-michael-bloombergs-legacy A better New York City? 6 takes on Michael Bloomberg's legacy], ''The Week''</ref>

In short, he is an avatar of the centrist business wing of the Democratic Party. He's a former Republican who was put off by his party's embrace of [[Fundamentalist Christianity|religious conservatism]] and [[populist]] [[nationalism]] long before it was cool, but while he agrees with the Democrats on social issues and the need to combat climate change, he distrusts the party's economic justice wing and resists more progressive climate polices.

===Occupy Wall Street===
[[OWS|Long story short]], Bloomberg is a bit of a dick who thought he had his own personal "army."<ref>[http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/michael-bloomberg-i-have-my-own-army-smoked-up-mit-134876818.html Bloomberg's "Own Army," "Smoked Up" Speech Raises Eyebrows], NBC</ref> He cracked down on the protesters rather [[police brutality|violently]], to the point where the [[Police|cops]] in New York City set up a surveillance system meant to gather information on the protesters and shared what they gathered with banks.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/25/nyregion/occupy-movement-was-investigated-by-fbi-counterterrorism-agents-records-show.html F.B.I. Counterterrorism Agents Monitored Occupy Movement, Records Show], ''The New York Times''</ref>

==2020 presidential campaign==
On November 24, 2019, Bloomberg announced his campaign for the 2020 presidential election.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/24/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-2020-presidency.html Michael Bloomberg Joins 2020 Democratic Field for President] ''The New York Times''. Nov. 24, 2019.</ref>{{efn|Curiously, this came after a phone call with [[Jeff Bezos]], in which Bloomberg told Bezos that he ''would not'' run for president.<ref>Jason Del Rey (November 9, 2019). [https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/11/9/20956153/mike-bloomberg-president-2020-jeff-bezos-phone-call-amazon-hq2 "Jeff Bezos asked Michael Bloomberg months ago if he'd consider running for president"]. ''Vox''.</ref>}} Though there was some hype about him replacing Biden as the chief centrist candidate,<ref>Julie Hollar (February 14, 2020). [https://fair.org/home/pundits-look-to-bloomberg-as-their-anti-sanders-savior/ "Pundits Look to Bloomberg as Their Anti-Sanders Savior"]. ''Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting''.</ref> or "buying the nomination,"<ref name="NYTwaterfall"/> his inability to shake the notion he was an entitled billionaire who entered the race because the progressives who would raise his taxes had a decent chance at winning left him very unpopular, and he was thus decimated on Super Tuesday after a series of weak debate performances.{{efn|In the first debate featuring Bloomberg, he was under attack from all sides,<ref>Grace Segers and Kathryn Watson (February 20, 2020). [https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/democratic-debate-nevada-clash-bloomberg/ "Democrats clash in fiery Las Vegas debate with Bloomberg as main target"]. ''CBS News''.</ref> and was hit particularly hard by critiques from [[Elizabeth Warren]].<ref>Sam Levin (February 20, 2020). [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/19/elizabeth-warren-mike-bloomberg-democratic-debate "'Arrogant billionaire': Warren attacks Bloomberg over NDAs, racist policing and taxes"]. ''The Guardian''.</ref><ref>Ankita Rao (March 4, 2020). [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/04/mike-bloomberg-out-60-second-attack-elizabeth-warren-destroyed-campaign "How Elizabeth Warren destroyed Mike Bloomberg's campaign in 60 seconds"]. ''The Guardian''.</ref> In the debate after that one, the audience's behavior was interpreted by many as unusually pro-Bloomberg despite being hosted in a state (South Carolina) which he opted to skip entirely,<ref>Ashley Feinberg (February 25, 2020). [https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/02/michael-bloomberg-had-very-enthusiastic-audience-support-at-the-debate-for-some-reason.html "Tuesday Night’s Debate Audience Sure Did Seem to Like Bloomberg for Some Reason"]. ''Slate''.</ref> and accusations that Bloomberg had "bought" the audience ensued,<ref>Andrew Naughtie (February 26, 2020). [https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/michael-bloomberg-democratic-debate-pay-audience-cheer-2020-election-a9361051.html "Michael Bloomberg accused of paying people to cheer for him at election debate"]. ''The Independent''.</ref> though this was apparently not actually true.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bump |first=Philip |date=2020-02-26 |title=Analysis {{!}} Did the Bloomberg campaign stack the debate audience with supporters? Doesn’t appear so. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/02/25/did-bloomberg-campaign-stack-debate-audience-with-supporters/ |access-date=2024-03-21 |work=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>}} He spent $500 million on his campaign in hopes of a blowout performance on Super Tuesday (he skipped the first four states entirely<ref>Michael Finnegan (February 2, 2020). [https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-02-02/bloomberg-trump-super-bowl-ads "Trump and Bloomberg run dueling Super Bowl ads and trade insults"]. ''The Los Angeles Times''.</ref><ref>Daniel Jackson (February 12, 2020). [https://www.courthousenews.com/bloomberg-woos-voters-in-gateway-to-deep-south-ahead-of-super-tuesday/ "Bloomberg Woos Voters in Gateway to Deep South Ahead of Super Tuesday"]. ''Courthouse News Service''.</ref> — apparently learning nothing from the {{wpl|Rudy Giuliani 2008 presidential campaign||),}} yet only ended up winning in [[American Samoa]]. Thus, on March 4, 2020, Mike dropped out of the presidential race. We will all miss his... {{wpl|Big Gay Ice Cream}} eating,<ref>(January 29, 2020). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN18WrdwZBQ "Mike Love Big Gay Ice Cream"]. ''YouTube''.</ref> snout-handshaking<ref>Chelsea Ritschel (January 28, 2020). [https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/michael-bloomberg-dog-video-mouth-shake-hand-2020-election-a9307136.html "Michael Bloomberg shakes dog's mouth in bizarre video during 2020 election campaign event"]. ''The Independent''.</ref> ways... probably.

===Resurfaced comments===
During the 2020 Democratic presidential campaign, a massive amount of comments that he made in the past (plus the fact he was once photographed alongside Ghislaine Maxwell,<ref>Dan Evon (November 27, 2019). [https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bloomberg-ghislaine-maxwell/ "Is This Bloomberg with Jeffrey Epstein Associate Ghislaine Maxwell?"]. ''Snopes''.</ref> and was listed in [[Jeffrey Epstein]]'s "little black book"<ref>Dan Evon (February 27, 2020). [https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/02/27/trump-bloomberg-epstein-black-book/ "Are Bloomberg, Trump Mentioned in Jeffrey Epstein's 'Black Book'?"]. ''Snopes''.</ref>) resurfaced. This included many prejudiced statements.

One such comment that proved especially damaging during the 2020 campaign was his past defense of Stop and Frisk. In one such instance, he said: "People say, 'Oh my God, you are arresting kids for marijuana who are all minorities.' Yes, that's true. Why? Because we put all the cops in the minority neighborhoods. Yes, that's true. Why'd we do it? Because that's where all the crime is. And the way you should get the guns out of the kids' hands is throw them against the wall and frisk them."<ref>Bobby Allyn (February 11, 2020). [https://www.npr.org/2020/02/11/804795405/throw-them-against-the-wall-and-frisk-them-bloomberg-s-2015-race-talk-stirs-deba "'Throw Them Against The Wall And Frisk Them': Bloomberg's 2015 Race Talk Stirs Debate"]. ''NPR''.</ref> Separately, he added: "I think we disproportionately stop whites too much and minorities too little. It’s exactly the reverse of what they say."<ref>Daniel Dale (February 15, 2020). [https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/15/politics/fact-check-michael-bloomberg-stop-and-frisk/index.html "Fact check: Bloomberg leaves out key parts of his history of stop and frisk policy"]. ''CNN''.</ref> In further support of racial profiling, he stated: "Ninety-five percent of your murders — murderers and murder victims — fit one M.O. You can just take the description, Xerox it, and pass it out to all the cops."<ref name="IntelFood">Sarah Jones (February 13, 2020). [https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/02/in-an-imf-talk-bloomberg-criticized-notion-of-minimum-wage.html "Michael Bloomberg Defended Fingerprinting Food-Stamp Recipients in 2018 Interview"]. ''Intelligencer'' (''New York'').</ref>

A number of demeaning comments or behaviors he displayed or allegedly displayed towards women over the years also resurfaced, including a tendency to remark "Nice tits!" upon meeting women (according to a former aide), and comments degrading women's intellect.<ref>Laura Bassett (February 13, 2020). [https://www.gq.com/story/bloomberg-sexism "Why Is Bloomberg's Long History of Egregious Sexism Getting a Pass?"]. ''GQ''.</ref><ref>Megan Garber (September 19, 2018). [https://web.archive.org/web/20180919200530/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/09/mike-bloomberg-comments-women-metoo/570448/ "'I’d Do Her': Mike Bloomberg and the Underbelly of #MeToo"]. ''The Atlantic''.</ref> He has also infamously referred to [[transgender]] individuals as "some guy in a dress" and referred to them as an "it."<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/02/19/bloomberg-transgender-video/ Mike Bloomberg refers to transgender people as 'it', 'some guy wearing a dress' in newly surfaced video], ''The Washington Post''. Feb. 19, 2020.</ref><ref>Alex Bollinger (February 7, 2020). [https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/02/mike-bloomberg-said-trans-rights-man-wearing-dress-using-locker-room-girls/ "Mike Bloomberg said trans rights are about 'some man wearing a dress' using a locker room with girls"]. ''LGBTQ Nation''.</ref>

Clips of Bloomberg praising [[Donald Trump]] were also unearthed and exploited by his political opponents, including one 2011 [[Fox News]] interview in which he called Trump a "New York icon" and a personal friend,<ref>Eric Lutz (February 19, 2020). [https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/02/mike-bloombergs-chumminess-with-trump-is-a-gift-to-his-2020-rivals "Mike Bloomberg's Chumminess With Trump Is A Gift To His 2020 Rivals"]. ''Vanity Fair''.</ref> though the two later became rivals.<ref>Daniel Strauss (January 17, 2020). [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/17/donald-trump-mike-bloomberg-past-new-york-rivalry "'Huge amount of ego': how Bloomberg and Trump ended up fierce rivals"]. ''The Guardian''.</ref> Other resurfaced comments from 2015 suggested Bloomberg wanted an alliance with [[Russia]], in part to handle "the whole crazy [[Islam]]ic world"; he also equated Russia's annexation of [[Crimea]] (2014) with the annexation of [[California]] by the United States (1848). In separate comments, he stated [[Xi Jinping]] is "not a dictator".<ref>Spencer Ackerman (February 11, 2020). [https://www.thedailybeast.com/michael-bloomberg-in-2015-saw-russias-point-in-invading-ukraine "Bloomberg in 2015 Saw Russia’s Point in Invading Ukraine"]. ''The Daily Beast''.</ref> Another comment that Bloomberg made after Trump won the 2016 presidential election suggested that [[Bernie Sanders]] would have won that election, because young people liked him; he continued by saying that they liked him only because they were uneducated.<ref>Daniel Newhauser (February 19, 2020). [https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7eg53/bloomberg-said-young-people-support-bernie-because-theyre-dumb "Bloomberg Said Young People Support Bernie Because They're Dumb"]. ''Vice News''.</ref> In a resurfaced 2018 conversation he had at the International Monetary Fund, he defended fingerprinting [[welfare|food stamp]] recipients and even appeared to criticize the concept of [[minimum wage]] laws.<ref name="IntelFood"/>

Amidst the slew of resurfaced statements by Bloomberg, at least a handful were exploited for what amounted to unfair criticisms. In one such case, a tape unearthed during the 2020 campaign appeared to show Bloomberg insulting farmers; however, this clip was reportedly edited by the Trump campaign so as to remove key context.<ref>Charles Duncan (February 18, 2020). [https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article240392636.html "Another Bloomberg tape comes back to haunt campaign. And this time it’s about farmers"]. ''The Miami Herald''.</ref><ref>Rick Barrett (February 17, 2020). [https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/02/17/bloomberg-video-appears-insult-farmers-but-full-context-deleted/4786501002/ "Edited video of Mike Bloomberg appears to insult farmers, factory workers, but there's more to the story"]. ''The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel''.</ref>

===Boatloads of money===
{{cquote|The Bloomberg campaign was a make work program for political consultants. He's like the [[FDR]] of {{wpl|K Street (Washington, D.C.)|K street|.}}|||Ken Klippenstein<ref>(March 4, 2020). [https://web.archive.org/web/20200304160152/https://twitter.com/kenklippenstein/status/1235231995099308033 "The Bloomberg campaign was a make work program for political consultants. He's like the FDR of K street"]. ''Twitter'', via the Wayback Machine.</ref>}}
{{cquote|But being forced to think about how to stretch dollars in politics can have its advantages, Mr. Trippi said, recalling that in 2004 — when he worked for [[Howard Dean]]’s campaign, which broke the record at that time for Democratic presidential fund-raising — 'a lot of the things we pioneered were exactly because we had to be that creative.' Nonetheless, he added, laughing: 'Picking between the advantage of being a little bit more creative with your money, versus having the money to do whatever you want to do — most campaigns would pick having more money.'|||''The New York Times'', February 2020<ref name="NYTwaterfall"/>}}
Bloomberg was not shy about digging into his deep pockets to boost his chances.<ref name="NYTwaterfall">Rebecca R. Ruiz (February 13, 2020). [https://web.archive.org/web/20200213114050/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/13/us/politics/bloomberg-campaign-cash.html "The Bloomberg Campaign Is a Waterfall of Cash"]. ''The New York Times''.</ref> Some of the results were peculiar, and at times it felt like the campaign was throwing cash wherever it could, hoping anything would stick: they [[Astroturf|paid hundreds of people $2,500 monthly to support Bloomberg with "officially approved messages"]] on [[social media]] (which resulted in at least seventy account bans on [[Twitter]]) and to "recruit friends and family members to write posts supporting him";<ref>Charlotte Jee (February 24, 2020). [https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/24/906108/twitter-has-suspended-70-pro-bloomberg-accounts-for-platform-manipulation/ "Twitter has suspended 70 pro-Bloomberg accounts for 'platform manipulation'"]. ''MIT Technology Review''.</ref> they also paid [[Instagram]] "influencers" to post pro-Bloomberg "[[meme]]s", for instance.<ref>Meghan Mistry (February 7, 2020). [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mike-bloomberg-2020-campaign-pay-influencers/ "Mike Bloomberg's campaign is looking to pay influencers"]. ''CBS News''.</ref><ref>(February 2020). [https://cheezburger.com/10597893/bloomberg-is-paying-big-meme-accounts-to-post-cringe-for-his-campaign "Bloomberg Is Paying Big Meme Accounts To Post Cringe For His Campaign"]. ''Cheezburger''.</ref><ref>(February 13, 2020). [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51493403 "Mike Bloomberg campaign pays influencers for memes"]. ''BBC News''.</ref><ref>Danielle Garrand (February 13, 2020). [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bloomberg-meme-michael-bloombergs-campaign-just-paid-some-of-instagrams-biggest-accounts-to-drop-memes-about-him/ "Michael Bloomberg's campaign just paid some of Instagram's biggest accounts to drop memes about him"]. ''CBS News''.</ref> A "robust network of consultants, lawyers and campaign staff members" were lavished with generous pay, gifts, and other benefits — perhaps even in an effort to draw talent from other campaigns.<ref name="NYTwaterfall"/><ref name="GrimIntercept">Ryan Grim (February 13, 2020). [https://theintercept.com/2020/02/13/bloomberg-spending-local-state-campaigns/ "Mike Bloomberg Is Hiring So Many Operatives, Local and State Campaigns Are Starving for Help"]. ''The Intercept''.</ref>{{efn|Although they were reportedly offered job security through to the general election as staffers working to elect whoever the eventual Democratic nominee would be, former Bloomberg campaign staffers later alleged that he reneged on this promise.<ref>Juana Summers (April 3, 2020). [https://www.npr.org/2020/04/03/826041256/mike-borrowed-my-credibility-and-abused-it-fired-bloomberg-campaign-workers-spea "'Mike Borrowed My Credibility And Abused It': Fired Bloomberg Campaign Workers Speak"]. ''NPR''.</ref>}} Bizarrely, this situation allegedly led some pro-Sanders operatives to join Bloomberg's campaign staff for the pay while secretly campaigning for Bernie anyway.<ref name="GrimIntercept"/> Campaign events were littered with tables of expensive food in the hopes of impressing voters.<ref>Gary He (February 18, 2020). [https://www.eater.com/2020/2/18/21140518/mike-bloomberg-campaign-spending-free-food-voting-democrat-primary "If You Feed Them, Will They Vote?"]. ''Eater''.</ref><ref name="NYTwaterfall"/> Flush with cash, the campaign was able to hire thousands of people and open 125 offices by February.<ref name="NYTwaterfall"/>

The campaign spent so much on advertising (about seventy percent of the campaign's overall spending<ref name="NYTwaterfall"/>) that it hiked ad prices significantly overall, proving to be very costly for other candidates.<ref>Stephanie Bunao (February 4, 2020). [https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article239964923.html "What is the 'Bloomberg Effect'?"]. ''The Charlotte Observer''.</ref><ref>Maya King (January 20, 2020). [https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/20/bloomberg-ad-campaign-hikes-tv-prices-100572 "Bloomberg’s massive ad campaign hikes TV prices for other candidates"]. ''Politico''.</ref> It's a bit difficult to articulate just how ubiquitous Bloomberg ads were at one point in time — an effort to, as ''[[The New York Times]]'' put it, "make his voice omnipresent on television and radio."<ref name="NYTwaterfall"/><ref>Todd J. Gillman (February 26, 2020). [https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2020/02/26/youre-not-imagining-it-nearly-every-campaign-ad-in-texas-is-from-bloomberg/ "You're not imagining it: Nearly every campaign ad in Texas is from Bloomberg"]. ''The Dallas Morning News''.</ref><ref>Fredreka Schouten (February 28, 2020). [https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/28/politics/2020-ad-spending-1-billion/index.html "Ad spending barrels past $1 billion mark as Mike Bloomberg overwhelms airwaves"]. ''CNN''.</ref>{{efn|Some journalist at ''Slate'' tortured himself by watching 185 Bloomberg campaign ads, for some reason, which probably means he holds the world record for watching Bloomberg campaign ads.<ref>Justin Peters (February 17, 2020). [https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/02/michael-bloombergs-ads-ranked.html "I Watched 185 Mike Bloomberg Ads"]. ''Slate''.</ref>}} The television executives (including Mr. [[Rupert Murdoch|Murdoch]] himself) were pleased with this,<ref>Lee Fang (February 15, 2020). [https://theintercept.com/2020/02/15/mike-bloomberg-campaign-spending-media-executives/ "TV Executives Celebrate Unprecedented Flood of Bloomberg Campaign Spending"]. ''The Intercept''.</ref> and the campaign even dropped ~$10 million on one Super Bowl ad alone primarily to get "under Trump's skin" (as there was also a pro-Trump Super Bowl ad with a similar price-tag at the same time).<ref>Jordan Jackson, Monica Alba and Allan Smith (January 7, 2020). [https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/bloomberg-campaign-buys-10-million-super-bowl-ad-target-trump-n1111881 "Super Bowl ad wars: It's Bloomberg vs. Trump, and they're spending millions"]. ''NBC News''.</ref><ref>Rebecca Morin (January 7, 2020). [https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/01/07/election-2020-michael-bloomberg-run-super-bowl-ad-costs-millions/2834756001/ "'Biggest point is getting under Trump’s skin': Michael Bloomberg to spend millions on Super Bowl ad"]. ''USA Today''.</ref> Some pro-Bloomberg television ads heavily impressed the idea that Mike had a great relationship with [[Barack Obama]] (or could have been interpreted as an implied endorsement<ref>Eli Yokley (February 27, 2020). [https://pro.morningconsult.com/articles/obama-endorsement-primary-poll "Most Democrats Think Obama Has Endorsed a Democrat for President. (He Hasn’t.)"]. ''Morning Consult''. Quote: "26 percent say Obama has endorsed Michael Bloomberg; 25 percent say he’s endorsed Joe Biden."</ref>), which ticked off some former Obama staffers and led some to point out their relationship was more complicated than the ads made it seem.<ref>Alex Seitz-Wald (February 19, 2020). [https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/bloomberg-obama-more-complicated-relationship-ads-suggest-n1138366 "Bloomberg and Obama: A more 'complicated' relationship than the ads suggest"]. ''NBC News''.</ref><ref>Kayla Epstein (February 18, 2020). [https://www.businessinsider.com/bloomberg-obama-ads-axelrod-criticism-2020-2 "Former Obama aides say Bloomberg's 'jarring' ads mislead voters about his relationship with the former president"]. ''Business Insider''.</ref><ref>Jeff Zeleny and David Wright (February 26, 2020). [https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/26/politics/bloomberg-obama-ads/index.html "Bloomberg's $38 million investment buys Obama TV ads but doesn’t rewrite complicated relationship"]. ''CNN''.</ref> Television and radio were by no means the only targeted mediums, with other large ad buys placed in newspapers,<ref>(2020). [https://www.democracyinaction.us/2020/ads20p/ads20p.html "Print Ads—Pre-Primary and Primary"]. ''Democracy in Action''.</ref><ref>Curtis Bunn (February 26, 2020). [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/bloomberg-spends-record-3-5m-ads-black-media-n1142196 "Bloomberg spends record $3.5M on ads in black media"]. ''NBC News''.</ref> the [[Internet|World Wide Web]],<ref>Julia Carrie Wong (February 21, 2020). [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/21/mike-bloomberg-facebook-ad-campaign "$45m, 1.6bn views and 'Crazy Donald': How Bloomberg bought your Facebook feed"]. ''The Guardian''.</ref> and weirdly enough, even massive billboards insulting Donald Trump for eating burnt steak.<ref>Tim Perry (February 21, 2020). [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mike-bloomberg-trolls-trump-with-billboards-as-he-campaigns-on-west-coast/ "Mike Bloomberg trolls Trump with billboards as Trump campaigns in West"]. ''CBS News''.</ref><ref>Eric Levitz (February 21, 2020). [https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/02/look-on-bloombergs-anti-trump-billboard-and-despair.html "Love Wanting to Die? Then Check Out Bloomberg’s Anti-Trump Billboards"]. ''Intelligencer'' (''New York'').</ref> Based on one ''Financial Times'' report, the eponymous {{wpl|Bloomberg Terminal|Bloomberg Terminals}} off which Mike Bloomberg made much of his fortune may have even been used for a little bit of indirect campaign advertising.<ref>Adam Samson, Philip Georgiadis, and Anna Nicolaou (December 5, 2019). [http://archive.today/2019.12.06-002253/https://www.ft.com/content/884c6aca-177a-11ea-8d73-6303645ac406 "Bloomberg terminal shortcut sent users to presidential campaign site"]. ''The Financial Times''.</ref>

In total, Bloomberg blew $1.1 billion on his campaign, by far the most money ever spent in the US for a self-funded campaign. For his profligate spending, he garnered only 2,550,000 votes in the primary for an average of $427/vote.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/15/senate-trone-funding/ David Trone and the history of candidates lighting their money on fire: The Maryland Senate candidate spent $62 million of his own money, only to lose the primary. But others have fared worse — at least on a dollars-per-vote basis.] by Aaron Blake (May 15, 2024 at 3:48 p.m. EDT) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

===Prison labor phone calls===
In late December 2019, ''The Intercept'' broke the story that the Bloomberg campaign had, bizarrely enough, exploited (via subcontractors) the labor of prisoners to make phone calls to voters. The campaign claimed that they learned about this only due to the inquiry by ''The Intercept''.<ref>John Washington (December 24, 2019). [https://theintercept.com/2019/12/24/mike-bloomberg-2020-prison-labor/ "Mike Bloomberg Exploited Prison Labor to Make 2020 Presidential Campaign Phone Calls"]. ''The Intercept''.</ref><ref>Sasha Pezenik (December 24, 2019). [https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bloomberg-campaign-prison-labor-make-2020-campaign-calls/story?id=67918752 "Bloomberg campaign used prison labor to make 2020 campaign calls"]. ''ABC News''.</ref> Bloomberg himself quickly confirmed the report was accurate,<ref>Laurel Wamsley (December 24, 2019). [https://www.npr.org/2019/12/24/791194618/bloomberg-campaign-vendor-used-prison-labor-to-make-presidential-campaign-calls "Bloomberg Campaign Vendor Used Prison Labor To Make Presidential Campaign Calls"]. ''NPR''.</ref><ref>Jake Johnson (December 25, 2019). [https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/25/bloomberg-says-explosive-report-his-campaigns-use-prison-labor-fundamentally "Bloomberg Says Explosive Report on His Campaign's Use of Prison Labor Is 'Fundamentally Accurate'"]. ''Common Dreams''.</ref> and the campaign cut ties with the vendor responsible.<ref>Matt Stevens (December 24, 2019). [https://web.archive.org/web/20191224231025/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/24/us/politics/bloomberg-prison-labor-procom.html "Bloomberg Drops Vendor Connected to Prison Labor"]. ''The New York Times''.</ref>

===Plagiarism===
{{main|Plagiarism}}
In February 2020, a report from ''the Intercept'' found that Bloomberg had plagiarized much of his platform from numerous research publications, media outlets and nonprofit groups, including ''CBS'', ''[[CNN]]'', ''Time'', and the American Medical Association.<ref>[https://theintercept.com/2020/02/06/mike-bloomberg-campaign-plagiarization/ BLOOMBERG PLAGIARIZED PARTS OF AT LEAST EIGHT OF HIS PLANS] ''The Intercept''. February 6 2020.</ref>

==See also==
*[[DINO]]
*[[Reform Party]]
*[[RINO]]
*[[Rudy Giuliani]], his predecessor.
*[[Emmanuel Macron]], the French version.

==External links==
*[http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.e985cf5219821bc3f7393cd401c789a0/ NYC.gov: Biography]
*[http://www.biography.com/articles/Michael-Bloomberg-16466704 Biography: Michael Bloomberg]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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