WASHINGTON - When Michael Bloomberg steps onto the Democratic debate stage for the first time on Wednesday, he will be ready to dismiss rivals like Joe Biden, who as vice president made"speeches that somebody writes for him," and Pete Buttigieg,"mayor of a town."
Some of his rivals have made clear they see the televised debate as their best opportunity to subject Bloomberg, who has been rising fast in the polls, to greater public scrutiny. "Bloomberg is spending an awful lot of money, but he has also not had his turn in the barrel," Representative Cedric Richmond, a co-chair of Biden's campaign, told reporters on a call on Feb. 12.Asked by Reuters how he would differentiate himself from his rivals in a debate, Bloomberg said he would emphasize his experience as the former mayor of America's biggest city and as the head of a large multinational company.
Bates also pointed to 2008 remarks by Bloomberg in which he tied the collapse in the U.S. housing market that led to the crisis to a ban on a discriminatory housing practice known as redlining.Bloomberg dismissed Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, as having limited experience, managing a city with roughly 100,000 people compared with New York's population of 8.4 million.
The other Democrats expected on the Las Vegas stage - including Biden and Buttigieg as well as U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar - are eager to confront him in a debate. Warren and Sanders have accused Bloomberg of trying to buy the election and are almost certain to repeat that during the debate. Bloomberg said polling suggests attacks on his money would fall flat with voters.
Please! Not one of Trump’s supporters in the Midwest or red-states is voting for a Jewish flipflopper from NYC who looks like a character from The Princess Bride. realDonaldTrump AnnCoulter TuckerCarlson DonaldJTrumpJr
He told a pregnant female employee to kill it, doesn’t support Medicare for all, believes in pension cuts, said most crime is committed in minority communities, as mayor phased out 150 schools, was a republican until last year.