Ben Shapiro Doesn’t Think Michael Bloomberg Is ‘Cheating’ With Campaign’s Advertising Blitz

Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg has been accused of attempting to buy the election due to his campaign’s strategy of spending millions on television advertising in Super Tuesday states. Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro recently weighed in on the situation and expressed his belief that Bloomberg is doing nothing wrong.

“Is Bloomberg doing something deeply wrong — is he “cheating” — by spending oodles of his own money on political advertising?” Shapiro asked in a Fox News op-ed.

“The answer, of course, is no” he continued, pointing to billionaire Tom Steyer’s spending — over $200 million on political advertising — that has not been as successful as Bloomberg’s.

According to Shapiro, Bloomberg’s success stems from his decision to play for the moderates around the same time that former Vice President Joe Biden began to falter in the polls and fall from the frontrunner position. He claimed that the difference in the success of Bloomberg’s campaign, as compared to Steyer’s, proves that money isn’t the only thing that determines a campaign’s viability.

“Dollars plus a political case is better than no dollars plus a political case. But it’s also true that dollars become increasingly important in a political system in which candidates can gain outsized attention and vote share by spending money that doesn’t belong to them.”

Shapiro pointed to the spending of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, both of whom have significant grassroots support.

Still, many believe that Bloomberg’s unprecedented spending is a threat to the integrity of the Democratic Party. Journalist and political commentator Michael Tracey went so far as to say that Bloomberg is more of a threat to democracy than Donald Trump.

In an op-ed for Spectator USA, Tracey argued that Bloomberg’s strategy is to tap into the fears of older voting groups that are “petrified” of Trump winning another term. He claims these voters watch a “disproportionate amount of TV,” making them prime targets for Bloomberg’s advertising campaign, which has funneled $418 million into television ads to date.

“Bloomberg — for all his effort to exude cool-headed competence and detached managerial wisdom — is a true chaos agent,” Tracey concluded his piece.

This is not just a question of Mike Bloomberg’s character—it’s a question about electability. We’re not going to beat Donald Trump with a man who silences women with who knows how many nondisclosure agreements. #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/ozPFghxU8s

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) February 20, 2020

Bloomberg also faced the wrath of Warren during Wednesday’s Democratic presidential debate. As The Inquisitr reported, the Massachusetts Sen. attacked Bloomberg as an “arrogant billionaire” and compared him to Trump. Warren pointed to Bloomberg’s past comments about women as well as his support of the controversial stop-and-frisk policy during his time as mayor of New York City.

Warren’s performance was cheered by the debate’s audience and also received praise from commentators afterward.