Truthout is a vital news source and a living history of political struggle. If you think our work is valuable, support us with a donation of any size.
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.”
Watch:
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.”
A terrifying moment. We appeal for your support.
In the last weeks, we have witnessed an authoritarian assault on communities in Minnesota and across the nation.
The need for truthful, grassroots reporting is urgent at this cataclysmic historical moment. Yet, Trump-aligned billionaires and other allies have taken over many legacy media outlets — the culmination of a decades-long campaign to place control of the narrative into the hands of the political right.
We refuse to let Trump’s blatant propaganda machine go unchecked. Untethered to corporate ownership or advertisers, Truthout remains fearless in our reporting and our determination to use journalism as a tool for justice.
But we need your help just to fund our basic expenses. Over 80 percent of Truthout’s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors.
Truthout has launched a fundraiser, and we have a goal to add 231 new monthly donors in the next 48 hours. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger one-time gift, Truthout only works with your support.