Bloomberg skewers Warren, slams other Democratic rivals
'I would be more acceptable, I think, to the middle-of-the-road Republicans who don’t like him, but do want somebody fiscally responsible'
Presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg slammed his Democratic rivals, namely Sen. Elizabeth Warren, during his latest TV interview Monday.
The billionaire business exec and former New York City mayor told NBC’s Craig Melvin on the "Today" show that he believes he’s a better option than the other Democratic contenders because he is “more acceptable to middle-of-the-road Republicans.”
“[I] know him better than anybody else," he said of President Trump. "I would be more acceptable, I think, to the middle-of-the-road Republicans who don’t like him, but do want somebody fiscally responsible. It’s that. It’s knowing how to deal with him. It’s being tough enough to deal with him at a practical level.”
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He went on to explain that he joined the race to the primary elections – albeit, later than everyone else, including former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick – because he didn’t think the other Democratic hopefuls could beat Trump. Some, Bloomberg said, “would almost guarantee his re-election.”
"I didn't think any of them could beat Donald Trump. Some, in fact, would almost guarantee his reelection."
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and President Donald Trump
When Bloomberg was asked about his company’s history with sexual harassment claims, he went on the defensive.
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“I think it’s fair to say … almost no company has the record that we have,” Bloomberg said, interrupting Melvin before he could finish his question. “So few, I think, we take it seriously, we investigate every credible claim immediately. We cut right away to the chase and do what has to be done.”
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He was asked about Warren’s calling for Bloomberg to let accusers speak about the alleged incidents. Again, he interrupted Melvin’s question to say: “She’s got nothing else to talk about. Come on.”
“It’s not up to me," he continued. "We made legal agreements and we’re going to enforce those, but that’s not to say they can’t speak out. I’ve encouraged women who work for us to go out and speak out about what they think is right or wrong.”
Bloomberg L.P. founder and CEO Michael Bloomberg November 1998 at his offices in New York City. (Photo by Chris Casaburi/Getty Images)
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Bloomberg, who is worth $60.2 billion, according to Forbes, co-founded Bloomberg LP in 1981 and was mayor of the Big Apple from 2002 to 2013. He was elected shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks.
He acknowledged he was not born with the “burning desire" to be president.
“What I have is a desire to do something for the country and for the city when I ran it because I’ve got kids, and I want to leave them a better world,” he said.
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He called Trump “so impetuous and erratic,” and said if he were a senator voting in the upcoming impeachment trial, he would vote to remove Trump, arguing that there is ample evidence to do so.
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