The 2020 presidential campaign of Michael Bloomberg, a businessman and former mayor of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, began when he filed a statement of candidacy with the
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...
for the office of
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
as a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
on November 21, 2019. His principal campaign committee was called "Mike Bloomberg 2020, Inc."
[ The campaign officially launched on November 24, 2019, in ]Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, later than most other candidates for the Democratic nomination.
Prior to launching his campaign, Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...
has been vocal in encouraging the Democratic Party to field a candidate with the best chance of defeating incumbent President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
. His political positions include gun control
Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians.
Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...
, climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
prevention, and city innovation. Bloomberg opted not to compete in the early states of Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
and South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
, instead beginning his campaign with the Super Tuesday
Super Tuesday is the United States presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses. Approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominating co ...
states. He financed his campaign personally and refused donations. He spent over five hundred million dollars of his own money on his campaign, one of the greatest single campaign expenditures in American history. His campaign heavily relied on advertising, including the use of nationally aired television ads, social media influencers
An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social m ...
, and billboards in high-visibility locations.
Bloomberg dropped out of the race on March 4, 2020, after winning only the territory of American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...
on Super Tuesday while missing the 15% threshold for proportional delegates in several states. He subsequently endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for the nomination, and announced an effort to use his campaign infrastructure to support Biden's primary bid and the eventual nominee. His lack of success among voters was attributed to poor debate performances, his former approval of stop-and-frisk in New York City
Frisking (also called a patdown or pat down) is a search of a person's outer clothing wherein a person runs their hands along the outer garments of another to detect any concealed weapons or objects.
U.S. Law
In the United States, a law enforce ...
and allegations of a sexist working environment at his company, Bloomberg LP
Bloomberg L.P. is a privately held financial, software, data, and media company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was co-founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1981, with Thomas Secunda, Duncan MacMillan, Charles Zegar, and a ...
.
Background
Michael Bloomberg is a billionaire businessman who ran as a Republican for Mayor of New York City in 2001, serving from 2002 to 2013. At various times in his life, he has been a Democrat, a Republican and an Independent. On March 5, 2019, Bloomberg announced that he would not run for president in 2020; instead he encouraged the Democratic Party to "nominate a Democrat who will be in the strongest position to defeat Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
". Sometime during the spring of 2019, Bloomberg also founded Hawkfish, a data and tech start-up focused on supporting Democratic candidates. The company was reportedly active in Virginia and Kentucky elections before shifting focus to the Bloomberg campaign. On October 14, 2019, a day before the Democratic Party's fourth presidential debate, it was reported that Bloomberg was "still looking at" entering the race if Joe Biden were to drop out, but that "nothing can happen unless Biden drops out", according to an unnamed source reported to be close to the situation. Fellow billionaire
A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busin ...
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net w ...
had expressed his approval of a potential Bloomberg presidential campaign as early as February 2019.
Activities prior to campaign launch
In March 2019, Bloomberg originally announced that he would not run for president.
However, on November 7, 2019, Bloomberg changed his mind and announced that he was taking steps to enter the 2020 United States presidential election
The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...
, and on November 8 he officially filed for the Alabama Democratic presidential primary. After qualifying in Michigan, on November 12, he filed his candidacy for the Arkansas primary. On November 13, he applied for the Tennessee ballot. On November 19, he gave three separate transactions of $106,500 to the Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...
along with $800,000 to the Democratic Grassroots Victory Fund.
Bloomberg has said he will begin his campaign with the Super Tuesday
Super Tuesday is the United States presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses. Approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominating co ...
states, not competing in Iowa or New Hampshire. He did not attend his company's second annual New Economy Forum in Beijing on November 20, a sign that his developing presidential campaign was now "dead serious". The summit was on the same day as one of the Democratic presidential primary debates in Atlanta. He missed the deadline to file in New Hampshire, thus reinforcing his planned strategy to focus on the Super Tuesday states on March 3, Another sign of his presidential run came when the University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
cancelled Bloomberg's scheduled lecture at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs on December 5, 2019, saying that it could be unlawful and against university policy to host him for such a lecture if he is a candidate.[ Bloomberg's "Everytown for Gun Safety" political bloc had previously contributed large sums of money to many Democrats running in the 2018 Minnesota statewide and legislative elections.]
Headquartered at facilities provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies
Bloomberg Philanthropies is a philanthropic organization that encompasses all of the charitable giving of founder Michael R. Bloomberg. Headquartered in New York City, Bloomberg Philanthropies focuses its resources on five areas: the environmen ...
, the campaign's staff at pre-launch included senior advisors Howard Wolfson
Howard Wolfson (born 1967) is an American Democratic political strategist. He served as a counselor to the former mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg, replacing Kevin Sheekey as Deputy Mayor of New York City for governmental affairs.
Early ...
, communications adviser Jason Schecter, advertising creator Bill Knapp, pollster Doug Schoen
Douglas Schoen (born June 27, 1953) is an American lawyer, political analyst, author, lobbyist, and commentator.
Education
Schoen attended Horace Mann School in New York City. While still a high school student, he canvassed the Upper West Side ...
along with sometimes Bloomberg Philanthropies CEO Patti Harris and political consultants Brynne Craig, Mitch Stewart, and Dan Wagner; and, at launch, Kevin Sheekey
Kevin Sheekey (born June 12, 1966) is an American businessman and political adviser. He is the Global Head of Communications, Government Relations and Marketing for Bloomberg L.P. He was the campaign manager for former New York City Mayor Mike Bl ...
(communications, government relations & marketing head for Bloomberg LP
Bloomberg L.P. is a privately held financial, software, data, and media company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was co-founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1981, with Thomas Secunda, Duncan MacMillan, Charles Zegar, and a ...
) was campaign manager.
On November 21, 2019, Bloomberg filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...
to declare himself as a Democratic candidate for president, though he said this was not a formal announcement, but a step towards making one if he decides to run.
2020 Presidential campaign
Bloomberg officially declared his candidacy on November 24, 2019, during a campaign event in Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
as well as in a campaign spot touting himself as a "doer and a problem solver" broadcast on YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. The campaign subsequently kicked off a television advertising campaign in about 100 markets
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
* Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
* Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, a ...
within the Super Tuesday
Super Tuesday is the United States presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses. Approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominating co ...
states, which are to contribute about 40 percent of total pledged delegates at the Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...
. On that date, his personal website, mikebloomberg.com, was repurposed for the presidential campaign.
In December 2019, Bloomberg hired Texas Democratic Party
The Texas Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Texas and one of the two major political parties in the state. The party's headquarters are in Austin, Texas.
President Lyndon B. Johnson was a Texas Democ ...
Vice Chair Carla Brailey as a senior campaign adviser and in January 2020, he hired California Democratic Party
The California Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in Sacramento.
With 43.5% of the state's registered voters as of 2018, the Democratic Party has the highest number of r ...
Vice Chair Alexandra Rooker for a senior advisory role. Both are superdelegate
In American politics, a superdelegate is an unpledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is seated automatically and chooses for themselves for whom they vote. These Democratic Party superdelegates (who make up slightly under 15 ...
s to the Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...
.
Bloomberg announced that he would finance his campaign personally and would not accept donations. In addition to spending on advertising, Bloomberg's campaign set aside between $15 million to $20 million to register a half million voters in five battleground states that had swung to Trump in 2016.
''Bloomberg News''
According to editor-in-chief John Micklethwait
Richard John Micklethwait (born 11 August 1962) is editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, a position he has held since February 2015. A British journalist, he was previously the editor-in-chief of '' The Economist'' from 2006 to 2015.
Life and ...
of ''Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg Televi ...
,'' because of Bloomberg's ownership of the ''News'' (which refrains from investigating its owner) as well as his candidacy in the Democratic Party primaries, it will likewise refrain from investigating rival candidates throughout the primaries. If "credible journalistic institutions" publish investigative reporting about any of the candidates, the ''News'' will "either publish those articles in full or summarize them," Micklethwait said. The ''Bloomberg Industry Group'' union, which does not represent ''News'' journalists, protested the ban; former Washington bureau
Bureau ( ) may refer to:
Agencies and organizations
* Government agency
*Public administration
* News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location
* Bureau (European Parliament), the administra ...
chief Megan Murphy said it was "staggering" for the news outlet to prevent "an army of unbelievably talented reporters and editors from covering massive, crucial aspects of one of the defining elections of our time"; and the Trump administration decredentialed ''News'' reporters from attending further 2020 Trump campaign
Incumbent Republican Donald Trump led an unsuccessful campaign for the 2020 United States presidential election. He was inaugurated for his first term on January 20, 2017, and officially announced his reelection campaign on June 18, 2019.
Do ...
events.
''The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' notes that over the years, there have been numerous reports about the sexist work environment at Bloomberg News.
Despite its promise not to investigate Bloomberg's presidential rivals, the news agency published a blistering report on the Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
and Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...
campaigns and spending on Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
office supplies ($233,348.51 and $151,240.90 respectively, in nine months). Sanders campaign speechwriter David Sirota joined journalists in slamming the report. The article notes that Michael Bloomberg has not yet released his first campaign spending report.[
]
Spending and advertising
Bloomberg decided on an unconventional primary strategy: not to compete in the four states that have primaries or caucuses in February, but to focus his efforts on the multi-state primary elections in March on what is known as Super Tuesday
Super Tuesday is the United States presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses. Approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominating co ...
. Following the Iowa caucuses
The Iowa caucuses are biennial electoral events for members of the Democratic and Republican parties in the U.S. state of Iowa. Unlike primary elections in most other U.S. states, where registered voters go to polling places to cast ballots, ...
, after a delay in reporting the results produced a chaotic and uncertain outcome, he decided to double his television advertising in all the markets where he was already spending and to increase his campaign staff to 2,000 people.
In the fourth quarter of 2019, Bloomberg spent $188 million on his presidential campaign, including $132 million on television ads, $8.2 million on digital ads, $3.3 million on polling, $1.5 million on rent, and $757,000 on airfare, including $646,000 for a private jet
A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people. Business jets may be adapted for other roles, such as the evacuation of casualties or express parcel deliveries, and some are used by pub ...
. By the end of January 2020, Bloomberg spent $300 million on his campaign and by February 2020 had exceeded $500 million. This caused the total spending in the presidential primary on behalf of all candidates to exceed $1 billion by February, an unprecedented figure for such an early point in a US presidential election.
Television ads
The campaign launched campaign ads in markets in every state nationally on December 4, 2019. By December 31, 2019 – five weeks after declaring his candidacy – he had spent or committed $200 million on advertising, producing "an onslaught of campaign commercials with no precedent in Democratic politics".
Bloomberg spent $10 million on a 60-second ad slot during Super Bowl LIV
Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Conferenc ...
that aired on February 2, 2020.
Digital and social media campaigns
Bloomberg's digital campaign set aside $100 million for anti-Trump social media ads in swing state
In American politics, the term swing state (also known as battleground state or purple state) refers to any state that could reasonably be won by either the Democratic or Republican candidate in a statewide election, most often referring to pre ...
s. By January 2020, Bloomberg spent an estimated $15 million on pay-per-click
Pay-per-click (PPC) is an internet advertising model used to drive traffic to websites, in which an advertiser pays a publisher (typically a search engine, website owner, or a network of websites) when the ad is clicked.
Pay-per-click is usually ...
Google ads
Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) is an online advertising platform developed by Google, where advertisers bid to display brief advertisements, service offerings, product listings, or videos to web users. It can place ads both in the result ...
promoting his campaign on search results for terms including "impeachment", "climate change", and "gun safety". In January 2020, Bloomberg spent $8.53 million in targeted Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
ads.
In addition to digital ads, Bloomberg's campaign recruited social media influencers
An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social m ...
to advertise online. The campaign used Tribe, a content marketplace for brands to solicit content from social media personalities, to offer a $150 payment to influencers who post a video or a still image with overlay text in support of Bloomberg. Bloomberg's campaign worked with Meme 2020, a social media company led by Jerry Media
Jerry Media is a content and advertising company that operates various Instagram accounts, most prominently @fuckjerry. The account, founded by Elliot Tebele in 2011, is known for its aggregation of online content and internet memes. The account ...
CEO Mick Purzycki, to pay popular Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
accounts to post "self-aware ironic" memes
A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...
about Bloomberg. In February 2020, the campaign hired 500 "deputy digital organizers", who are paid $2,500 per month to promote Bloomberg on their personal social media accounts and in text messages to their contact lists.
Billboards
In February 2020, Bloomberg's campaign purchased billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
space in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
and Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...
ahead of President Trump's campaign rallies in the two cities. The billboards, placed in high-visibility locations along Trump's potential motorcade route and outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas
The Trump International Hotel Las Vegas is a 64-story hotel, condominium, and timeshare located on Fashion Show Drive in Paradise, Nevada, US, named for owner Donald Trump, who later became US president. It is located down the street from Wynn L ...
, displayed phrases including "Donald Trump cheats at golf", "Donald Trump eats burnt steak", "Donald Trump lost the popular vote", and "Donald Trump went broke running a casino."
Voting
Bloomberg led the midnight vote in the tiny townships of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire
Dixville Notch is an unincorporated community in Dixville township, Coos County, New Hampshire, United States. The population of the township, all of whom live in Dixville Notch, was 4 as of the 2020 census. The village is known for being one o ...
. Although not on the ballot in the 2020 New Hampshire Democratic primary, Bloomberg received three write-in votes in Dixville Notch Dixville may refer to:
*Dixville, New Hampshire
Dixville is a township in Coös County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4 as of the 2020 census, down from 12 at the 2010 census. In New Hampshire, locations, grants, townships ( ...
: two in the Democratic primary and one in the Republican primary.
"Super Tuesday" results and suspension of campaign
In the March 3, 2020 "Super Tuesday" primaries, Bloomberg finished in third or fourth place in most of the 14 states involved, picking up a total of 61 delegates out of the more than 1,000 that were available. On March 4, 2020, Bloomberg suspended his campaign, stating, "I'm a believer in using data to inform decisions. After yesterday's results, the delegate math has become virtually impossible – and a viable path to the nomination no longer exists." Bloomberg then endorsed Joe Biden.
Following the suspension of his campaign, Bloomberg donated money to nonprofits which register people of color to vote. This includes a $2 million donation to Collective Future, a group that registers black voters, and a $500,000 donation to Voto Latino
Voto Latino is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization in the United States, founded in 2004. The organization's primary aim is to encourage young Hispanic and Latino voters to register to vote and become more politically involved. The organization wa ...
, which registers young Latinos as voters.
Criticism and controversies
Transphobic comments
In 2020, Buzzfeed News
''BuzzFeed News'' is an American news website published by BuzzFeed. It has published a number of high-profile scoops, including the Steele dossier, for which it was heavily criticized, and the FinCEN Files. Since its establishment in 2011, it ...
unearthed video footage from 2019, of Bloomberg at a Bermuda Business Development Agency gathering referring to transgender individuals as "it" and "some guy in a dress."
Prison phone bank
''The Intercept
''The Intercept'' is an American left-wing news website founded by Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, Laura Poitras and funded by billionaire eBay co-founder Pierre Omidyar. Its current editor is Betsy Reed. The publication initially reported ...
'' reported on December 24, 2019, that the Bloomberg campaign had unwittingly used prison labor to support the campaign. Call center ProCom was contracted to make calls through a third-party vendor; two of the company's call centers are located in state prisons in Oklahoma. Female inmates at the Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Center called voters in California, ending the calls by revealing that the calls were paid for by the Bloomberg campaign but without mentioning they originated in a prison. The Bloomberg campaign acknowledged the calls but said they were unaware the calls originated in a prison and they have since severed ties with the company.
ProCom said the company pays the Oklahoma minimum wage of $7.25 an hour to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC or ODOC) is an agency of the state of Oklahoma. DOC is responsible for the administration of the state prison system. It has its headquarters in Oklahoma City, across the street from the headquarters o ...
, which then pays the people working in the call centers. Documents from the Department of Corrections indicate they pay a maximum monthly wage for the incarcerated of either $20.00 or $27.09 per month.[
]
Plagiarized campaign materials
In February 2020, an analysis by ''The Intercept
''The Intercept'' is an American left-wing news website founded by Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, Laura Poitras and funded by billionaire eBay co-founder Pierre Omidyar. Its current editor is Betsy Reed. The publication initially reported ...
'' found that the Bloomberg campaign had plagiarized
Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...
portions of its published policy proposals from news outlets, research publications, non-profit organizations, and policy groups without attribution. The report found that sections of the campaign's fact sheets for its plans on maternal care, LGBTQ equality, mental health, infrastructure, economy, tax policy, and mental health contained exact passages – ranging from individual sentences to full paragraphs – pulled from sources including CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
, CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
, Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
, the John Jay College of Criminal Justice
The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts c ...
, the American Medical Association
The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. Founded in 1847, it is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was approximately 240,000 in 2016.
The AMA's state ...
, Everytown for Gun Safety
Everytown for Gun Safety is an American nonprofit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Everytown was created in 2013 when Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America joined force ...
, and Building America's Future Educational Fund, the latter two of which Bloomberg co-founded or financed.
In response to the report, Bloomberg's campaign released a statement asserting that the lack of attribution resulted from its use of the email service
A mailbox provider, mail service provider or, somewhat improperly, email service provider is a provider of email hosting. It implements email servers to send, receive, accept, and store email for other organizations or end users, on their behalf. ...
, MailChimp
Mailchimp is a marketing automation platform and email marketing service. "Mailchimp" is the trade name of its operator, Rocket Science Group, an American company founded in 2001 by Ben Chestnut and Mark Armstrong, with Dan Kurzius joining at a ...
, that it used to distribute the campaign material, explaining that MailChimp does not support footnote citations formatting. The campaign added, "When we announce policy platforms, we put together detailed fact sheets with context and supporting background, so that reporters understand the problem we're trying to solve with our policy...We have since added citations and links to these documents."
Former mayoralty of New York City
"Stop and frisk" approval
On February 5, 2015, Bloomberg made comments at the Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...
and, while addressing issues of minority rights
Minority rights are the normal individual rights as applied to members of racial, ethnic, class, religious, linguistic or gender and sexual minorities, and also the collective rights accorded to any minority group.
Civil-rights movements ofte ...
, policing policy, and gun control
Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians.
Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...
, Bloomberg had said that police should confiscate guns of African Americans between ages 15 and 25. "These kids think they're going to get killed anyway because all their friends are getting killed. So they just don't have any long-term focus or anything. It's a joke to have a gun. It's a joke to pull a trigger." He has stated that police should "throw frican Americansup against the wall and frisk them." Bloomberg's approval of stop-and-frisk policies in New York City during his mayoralty has received widespread condemnation from the public and police alike. He eventually disavowed the controversial practice after announcing his campaign. Bloomberg stated at one point that "One of the unintended consequences is people say, 'Oh my God, you are arresting kids for marijuana. They're all minorities.' Yes, that's true. Why? Because we put all the cops in the minority neighborhoods. Yes, that's true. Why do you do it? Because that's where all the crime is."
The comments were criticized by many as racist, including President Trump, who tweeted "WOW, BLOOMBERG IS A TOTAL RACIST!"
Bloomberg subsequently claimed that "I inherited the police practice of stop-and-frisk, and as part of our effort to stop gun violence it was overused. By the time I left office, I cut it back by 95%, but I should've done it faster and sooner. I regret that and I have apologized." This claim has been disputed by many in the media, who point to Bloomberg's past statements and actions as Mayor as evidence that he supported and expanded the practice.
National co-chair of Sanders's campaign Nina Turner called for Bloomberg to drop out of the race over the issue. Sanders said at a February 16 dinner in Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, "Regardless of how much money a multibillionaire candidate is willing to spend on his election, we will not create the energy and excitement we need to defeat Donald Trump if that candidate pursued, advocated for and enacted racist policies like stop-and-frisk, which caused communities of color in his city to live in fear."
Comments regarding redlining
In 2008 at the height of the housing/banking crisis, Bloomberg said at a university forum that the crisis "all started when there was a lot of pressure on banks to make loans to everyone," even in poor neighborhoods, so that "banks started making more and more loans where the credit of the person buying the house wasn't as good as you would like."[ When a video of these comments was published in February 2020, they were widely interpreted as saying that he had blamed the crisis at least in part on the end of ]redlining
In the United States, redlining is a discriminatory practice in which services (financial and otherwise) are withheld from potential customers who reside in neighborhoods classified as "hazardous" to investment; these neighborhoods have signif ...
– the practice of refusing to make bank loans in poor or minority neighborhoods. In response, a Bloomberg spokesman said that Bloomberg had always opposed redlining and fought against it as mayor.
Allegedly profane or sexist comments; nondisclosure agreements
A booklet of quotes attributed to Bloomberg, titled '' The Wit and Wisdom of Michael Bloomberg'' was created as a gift to him in 1990. Some quotes included by the Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
include lewd and sexist comments directed at Bloomberg employees; One example described Bloomberg Terminals as computers that "will do everything, including give you ral sex I guess that puts a lot of you girls out of business."
A former Bloomberg saleswoman also alleged that Bloomberg once joked that "All of you girls line up to give him ral sexas a wedding present." Her lawsuit also alleged that when Bloomberg saw a woman he was attracted to, he would say "I'd f*** that in a second." In a quote relating to an actress he was attracted to, Bloomberg is quoted as saying "If women wanted to be appreciated for their brains, they’d go to the library instead of to Bloomingdale's."
Bloomberg has received criticism during the February debate for disallowing women who had settled suits against his company to publicly air their grievances. On February 21, Bloomberg said that three women employed by his company, the only ones whose complaints related to him, would be released if desirous from their nondisclosure agreements
A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal contract or part of a contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish ...
.
Twitter troll accounts
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
had suspended 70 troll accounts that posted content in support of Bloomberg's presidential campaign. A Twitter spokesperson told ''TIME'' that it has "taken enforcement action on a group of accounts for violating our rules against platform manipulation and spam." Twitter said that Bloomberg's campaign violated Twitter's rules against "creating multiple accounts to post duplicative content," "posting identical or substantially similar Tweets or hashtags from multiple accounts you operate" and "coordinating with or compensating others to engage in artificial engagement or amplification, even if the people involved use only one account."
Edited debate footage
On February 20, 2020, Bloomberg's official Twitter account shared a manipulated video of the previous night's Democratic debate in Las Vegas. The video featured Bloomberg saying "I'm the only one here that's ever started a business. Is that fair?" followed by a series of clips from various moments of the debate, which were edited together to appear as if Bloomberg's question was followed by 20 seconds of silence from the other candidates. Bloomberg's campaign responded to criticism by saying that the video was intended to be "tongue-in-cheek".
Debates
Bloomberg had declared his candidacy after most of the 2019 primary debates organized by the Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...
. After declaring, he failed to meet the requirements to participate in the debates December 2019 and January 2020 debates, as the DNC required participating candidates to demonstrate at least 4-percent support in at least four separate national polls approved by the DNC (or 6 percent in two early state polls), in addition to donations "from at least 200,000 unique donors overall, and a minimum of 800 unique donors in at least 20 states." Various national polls conducted in December found that Bloomberg's candidacy registered at around four percent support. however he did not meet the donor threshold, as he was not accepting contributions.
By early January 2020, Bloomberg was found by ''Real Clear Politics
RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. The site features selected political ...
'' to have reached about 5.6% support nationally,[ but he again failed to meet the donors requirement for the January debate.
On January 13, Bloomberg stated that "People often ask me, 'Why aren't you in the debates? It's simple: the party requires candidates to have a certain number of donations, but I've never accepted a nickel from anyone. Unlike President Trump, I've always been independent of the special interests. I hope the DNC changes its rules – I'd gladly participate – but I'm not going to change my principles." During the January debate, he tweeted an image of his face on a meatball and other odd photos, which were poorly received by social media users.
On January 31, 2020, the DNC changed its eligibility rules, eliminating the individual-donor threshold. This allowed Bloomberg to participate in future debates by merely meeting polling requirements.
]
February 19, 2020 debate
On February 18, 2020, Bloomberg qualified to participate in the February 19 debate in Nevada. Bloomberg's debut debate performance was poorly received, with some pundits saying that his performance was "among the worst in the history of presidential debates." He was widely criticized for his answers regarding stop-and-frisk, workplace harassment, and allegations of harassment by female employees, many of whom were bound by non-disclosure agreements. Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...
, as well as Joe Biden, challenged him to release the women from the non-disclosure agreements, to which he refused. It is reported that there are at least 64 women named in at least 40 lawsuits alleging sexual harassment or gender discrimination at Bloomberg LP
Bloomberg L.P. is a privately held financial, software, data, and media company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was co-founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1981, with Thomas Secunda, Duncan MacMillan, Charles Zegar, and a ...
.
After the debate, at a rally in Salt Lake City, Utah, Bloomberg stated that "Trump was the real winner of Las Vegas debate" and claimed that "If we choose a candidate who appeals to a small base like Senator Sanders, it will be a fatal error." Bloomberg's campaign staff manager Kevin Sheekey claimed that the night was actually a success for Bloomberg, stating that "You know you are a winner when you are drawing attacks from all the candidates. Everyone came to destroy Mike tonight, it didn't happen. Everyone wanted him to lose his cool. He didn't do it. He was the grownup in the room."
Political positions
Bloomberg, who has said in an editorial he believes climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
cannot await favorable political winds, has funded Beyond Carbon, modeled on the effort he had previously co-founded along with the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...
, Beyond Coal The Beyond Coal movement is a campaign by environmental group the Sierra Club to promote renewable energy instead of coal. Their primary objective is to close coal power plants in the United States, including at least one-third of the country's m ...
, which he credits as contributing to the closing of half of the U.S.'s coal-fired power station
A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide, there are about 8,500 coal-fired power stations totaling over 2,000 gigawatts Nameplate capacity, capacity. They ...
s.
He has advocated for greatly expanding U.S. healthcare programs to create essentially a hybrid single-payer healthcare
Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer").
Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from ...
he has dubbed Medicare for all' for people that are uncovered."[
Bloomberg's "All-In Economy" agenda, especially focused on assisting mid-sized cities in the economically lagging American heartland in their becoming economic growth generators,] would include increased federal funding for community-colleges, technical training programs, and job-creating research and development endeavors that "invest in college partnerships and apprenticeships that connect people with identifiable jobs and career paths"; provide to workers, whether gig work, contract
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...
and franchise
Franchise may refer to:
Business and law
* Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees
* Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...
employees, union organizing
A union organizer (or union organiser in Commonwealth spelling) is a specific type of trade union member (often elected) or an appointed union official. A majority of unions appoint rather than elect their organizers.
In some unions, the orga ...
and collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The i ...
rights; increase to the national minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...
to $15 an hour; increase to the Earned Income Tax Credit
The United States federal earned income tax credit or earned income credit (EITC or EIC) is a refundable tax credit for low- to moderate-income working individuals and couples, particularly those with children. The amount of EITC benefit depends ...
; and, creating "Business Resource Centers" to assist entrepreneurs.
Bloomberg's Greenwood Initiative aims to redress historic and institutional economic injustices that have affected Black Americans. The plan is focused on closing the economic gap between white and Black Americans by driving economic empowerment and helping to create generational wealth.
Bloomberg said that he is open to spending 1 billion dollars to support the Democratic candidate in the presidential election, even if it will be Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
or Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...
. In February, the Sanders campaign declined financial help from Bloomberg should it receive the nomination and Bloomberg's spokesperson said Bloomberg would not assist a candidate who did not desire his assistance. Bloomberg also said that he will not run ads against his rivals in the Democratic primaries. Though on February 17, Bloomberg ran an attack ad against Sanders's supporters accusing them of using online bullying tactics to mute criticism of their candidate. The ad showed screenshots of alleged Sanders supporters using memes, alleged threatening texts, and other tweets.
Private spending toward policy goals
Part of Bloomberg's long-time political modus operandi is funding of various nonprofits
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
in support of such issues he supports as gun control
Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians.
Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...
(Bloomberg is the primary funder of Everytown for Gun Safety
Everytown for Gun Safety is an American nonprofit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Everytown was created in 2013 when Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America joined force ...
), climate-change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in a broader sense also includes ...
prevention, and city innovation.
Campaigning in Philadelphia in January 2020, referencing $80 million he spent supporting Congressional candidates in the 2018 midterm elections
The 2018 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. These midterm elections occurred during Republican Donald Trump's term. Democrats made a net gain of 41 seats in the United States House of Representatives, gaining a majo ...
, Bloomberg said, "I supported 24 candidates who were good on guns and good on environment, and 21 of them won, and that flipped the House. So if it wasn't for that, you wouldn't have peakerPelosi and you wouldn't have impeachment."
Endorsements
Bloomberg has faced criticism by a few media outlets for "buying endorsements". According to ''HuffPost
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'', the presidential candidate donated millions of dollars to the Congressional candidates before later receiving their endorsements. Charities controlled by Michael Bloomberg, such as Bloomberg Philanthropies
Bloomberg Philanthropies is a philanthropic organization that encompasses all of the charitable giving of founder Michael R. Bloomberg. Headquartered in New York City, Bloomberg Philanthropies focuses its resources on five areas: the environmen ...
, have reportedly given grants and training to city mayors throughout the country soon forming a network of mayors willing to support his campaign. One incident reported by the ''Detroit Free Press
The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...
'' had Bloomberg receiving an endorsement from Wayne County Executive Warren Evans
Warren Cleage Evans (born December 30, 1948) is an American law enforcement official, lawyer, and politician serving as the county executive of Wayne County, Michigan since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, Evans previously served as the c ...
after his campaign hired Evans's wife.
Post campaign
Bloomberg suspended his campaign on March 4, 2020, and he endorsed the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign
Former vice president Joe Biden began his presidential campaign on April 25, 2019 by releasing a video announcing his candidacy in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. The campaign concluded with him and his running mate Kamala H ...
. On March 20 he announced that he would transfer $18 million to the Democratic National Committee (DNC). He made a $2 million donation to the black voter registration group Collective Future and $500,000 for Voto Latino
Voto Latino is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization in the United States, founded in 2004. The organization's primary aim is to encourage young Hispanic and Latino voters to register to vote and become more politically involved. The organization wa ...
to register new voters. He has pledged to spend $15 million to $20 million to register voters in five purple states. In addition, he announced a $2 million donation to the progressive group Swing Left to help Democrats in competitive races. He donated $5 million to Stacey Abrams
Stacey Yvonne Abrams (; born December 9, 1973) is an American politician, lawyer, voting rights activist, and author who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017, serving as minority leader from 2011 to 2017. A member ...
's Fair Fight 2020 to encourage voter-registration and oppose voter-suppression measures.
Despite having promised his campaign staff they would be guaranteed jobs through November, on March 20 Bloomberg announced he was laying off his staff, although some may be hired by the DNC or other campaigns. The announcement came during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Uni ...
. Former staff filed a class-action suit in the on March 23. The Bloomberg campaign noted that some former staffers had already been hired by the DNC and all former staffers were guaranteed health care coverage through April. On April 27, 2020, Bloomberg announced that he would pay health care costs for campaign workers through November 2020.
References
External links
*
{{2020 United States presidential election
Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to:
People
* Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer
* Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian
* Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and ma ...
Michael Bloomberg