Billionaire businessman and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Sunday officially announced he is entering the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, launching a $30 million ad blitz in which he presents himself as “jobs creator” and a “middle class kid who made good.”
“Mike Bloomberg started as a middle class kid who had to work his way through college, then built a business from a single room to a global entity,” states the narrator of an ad Bloomberg tweeted Sunday morning.
Bloomberg, a former Republican whose estimated net worth is over $54 billion, said he believes his “unique set of experiences in business, government, and philanthropy will enable me to win and lead.”
The businessman’s ad does not mention specific policy proposals or rival 2020 Democratic candidates, but the short video does take a thinly veiled swipe at Medicare for All.
“There’s an America waiting to be rebuilt, where everyone without health insurance is guaranteed to get it and everyone who likes theirs can go ahead and keep it,” the ad states, echoing a common insurance industry talking point against single-payer.
https://twitter.com/MikeBloomberg/status/1198620233994526722
Ahead of his official announcement, Bloomberg’s expected entry into the 2020 race drew sharp criticism from progressives, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), presidential contenders who have both taken aim at the wealth of billionaires like Bloomberg with their tax proposals.
On Friday, Sanders expressed disgust at Bloomberg’s $30 million ad purchase.
“If you can’t build grassroots support for your candidacy, you have no business running for president,” Sanders said in a statement. “The American people are sick and tired of the power of billionaires, and I suspect they won’t react well to someone trying to buy an election.”
As Common Dreams reported last week, progressives have warned that the candidacies of Bloomberg and former private equity executive Deval Patrick represent a last-ditch effort by the wealthy donor class to maintain control over the Democratic Party.
“We’ve got two super-rich guys who are scared to death that a progressive’s going to win the primary and then win the general,” Charles Chamberlain, chairman of progressive group Democracy for America, told Politico. “This is about fear of victory, not fear of loss.”
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $104,000 in one-time donations and to add 1340 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy