Sen. Bernie Sanders said in a CBS “60 Minutes” interview set to air Sunday that Michael Bloomberg’s performance in the Democratic presidential debate Wednesday night showed that President Donald Trump would make easy work of the former New York City mayor in a general election debate.
Sanders, a Democratic presidential candidate, told Anderson Cooper that he was surprised by Bloomberg’s apparent lack of preparation and inability to address concerns about his record as a mayor and a businessman. “And if that’s what happened in a Democratic debate,” Sanders said, “I think it’s quite likely that Trump will chew him up and spit him out.”
Asked if he is concerned about Bloomberg winning the Democratic nomination, Sanders said he is more “worried about an unprecedented amount of money being spent on a campaign.” Bloomberg, who is worth over $60 billion, has already spent $400 million on advertising in the Democratic primary race.
“We’ve never seen anything like this in American history,” Sanders said. “And I just think though that the American people will rebel against this type of oligarchic movement. We are a democracy. One person, one vote. Not a guy worth $60 billion buying an election.”
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According to Bloomberg’s latest Federal Election Commission filing, the billionaire businessman spent around $7 million per day — $300,000 an hour — on his campaign in January.
“In the minute it will take you to read this story,” NBC News reported Thursday, “billionaire media mogul Mike Bloomberg’s campaign will have spent about $5,000, if not more.”
Sanders tweeted late Thursday that while Bloomberg “has no problem spending $7 MILLION a day so he can buy the presidency… half our people live paycheck to paycheck.”
“Our economy is rigged,” Sanders added, “and we must create one that works for all, not just billionaires.”
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