Income Inequality Is Just One Of Many Issues Michael Bloomberg Campaign Will Focus On, Says His Pollster
In a radio interview aired on Saturday, billionaire Michael Bloomberg‘s pollster, Doug Schoen, said that income inequality will be one of the issues the candidate will seek to address through his campaign, reports The Hill.
Speaking with host John Catsimatidis, Schoen explained that Bloomberg will seek to tackle a wide range of issues, including climate change, gun control, and jobs.
“He’s focused on climate, given his role as the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Climate,” Schoen explained.
“Guns, certainly,” the pollster continued, before touting the former New York City mayor’s record on gun control.
“He has had great success passing anti-gun violence legislation in the state legislatures. He helped run a medical school and run Johns Hopkins,” he said of Bloomberg.
“And ultimately he needs to tell the story of how he’s created thousands of jobs, and what we need to do as a country to reduce income inequality,” Schoen suggested.
The pollster also revealed that Bloomberg will not only pay for ads to promote his own candidacy, but also air advertisements attacking President Donald Trump.
“Americans should expect to see ads touting Mike Bloomberg and also attacking Donald Trump,” he said.
The businessman formally entered the presidential race last week, deciding to join the crowded Democratic primary field. Unlike other candidates, Bloomberg will only focus on Super Tuesday states, ignoring New Hampshire and Iowa.
The billionaire will not run a traditional political campaign. Rather, he plans on focusing his resources on television advertisements. Worth around $50 billion, Bloomberg will reportedly spend between $500 million and $1 billion on the presidential race.
Other Democrats running for president have not exactly welcomed Bloomberg with open arms. Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders — who often criticizes the influence of money on politics and centers his policies on addressing income inequality — said that billionaires like Bloomberg are “not going to get very far in this election.”
We do not believe that billionaires have the right to buy elections.
That is why multi-billionaires like Michael Bloomberg are not going to get very far in this election. pic.twitter.com/738Eg5ssLe
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) November 24, 2019
The Sanders campaign suggested that the billionaire is not running to win the nomination or beat Trump, but to prevent the Vermont senator from becoming the Democratic nominee. Noting that Bloomberg reportedly joined the race at the urging of Amazon owner Jeff Bezos, the campaign also pointed out that Trump and Bloomberg seem to have been friends for years.
Similarly, Julián Castro said that the American people are not looking for a “billionaire savior,” suggesting that Bloomberg’s candidacy is doomed to fail. Former Vice President Joe Biden said that he “welcomes” the businessman into the race, warning him that he is in “better shape” to win the nomination.
