Tucker Carlson had some fighting words for Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg, with the politico accusing the former New York City mayor of trying to “buy” votes, according to Fox News .
Carlson’s assertions come as new data shows Bloomberg climbing to nearly 15 percent in the national polls, after spending around half a billion dollars on an aggressive ad campaign.
However, the Fox News host claimed that, despite the number of advertisements, very few of his commercials or other media blitzes contained substantive information about his platform or ideas. For example, Bloomberg’s recent social media campaign had Instagram influencers promoting the New York businessman by stating he was the “cool” candidate, rather than discussing his record.
According to Carlson, this is a deliberate choice on the former mayor’s part.
“He’s not running on ideas. He’s not trying to convince voters of anything. He’s not making arguments or working to change their minds on policies they care about… He is trying to buy them,” the host stated.
“Bloomberg can’t be bothered with selling ideas or with a platform. He doesn’t care what the public thinks, that’s why. He believes he can win by overwhelming voters with his money,” he continued.
The political analyst also pointed out the vast difference in spending between Bloomberg and his nearest rivals. According to the latest figures, the three-time mayor has spent more than $417 million on his campaign.
Meanwhile, current frontrunner Bernie Sanders has spent less than 10 percent of the billionaire’s amount, paying an estimated $40 million for ads. Former Vice President Joe Biden, who currently boasts second place in the national polls, has spent even less, at $12.3 million. That comes to less than three percent of Bloomberg’s budget.
Carlson claimed that the sheer amount of money that the former mayor — who is worth an estimated $63 billion — has been pouring into the race is not only unprecedented in American politics, but also could have serious consequences for the future of democracy.
“Aides say Bloomberg is willing to spend $2 billion of his own money by Election Day and the number could go higher. Nothing like this has ever happened in America. Bloomberg’s spending is… like a tsunami breaking over our political system,” he said.
Carlson is not the only person to criticize the billionaire. In fact, attacks on him have come from both sides of the aisle. As was previously reported by The Inquisitr , Bill de Blasio, who was Bloomberg’s successor as mayor of New York, also slammed the rising candidate.
“He’s the epitome of the power structure,” de Blasio — who recently ended his own bid for president — claimed.