White House race shake-up: ‘Bloomberg is in if Biden is out’
- The former New York mayor’s attitude towards wealth is staunchly opposite Elizabeth Warren’s, with whom he’s repeatedly clashed
Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is at it again – teasing a presidential run. At 77, he won’t even be the oldest in the field, and the billionaire is certainly not short of funding to be able to throw his hat in the ring.
Over the past several weeks, he’s signalled renewed interest in the democratic nomination, telling friends and associates he’s “still looking at” running for president.
But he has cautioned he’d only join the race if former vice-president Joe Biden’s faltering centrist campaign takes a decisive hit or pulls out early in primary season, according to a report by CNBC.
Biden’s collapse would likely leave Elizabeth Warren as front runner, a liberal candidate with whom he has repeatedly clashed over her anti-corporate policies and fears she will push the party too far to the left and eliminate the chance of a Democratic candidate unseating Donald Trump next year.
Bloomberg’s disagreements with Warren are stark. In January, when he was considering a run for president, he described Warren’s wealth tax proposals in extreme terms.
“We shouldn’t be embarrassed about our system,” he said.
