Former New York mayor, Mike Bloomberg, has dropped out of the presidential campaign after spending record amounts of money from his own fortune on an ad-blitz strategy. It failed to yield any wins on Super Tuesday beyond a victory in the American Samoa caucuses.
What We Know:
- Bloomberg instantly announced that he would endorse Joe Biden, following the footsteps of other moderate-leaning Democratic presidential candidates.
- “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. But I remain clear-eyed about my overriding objective: victory in November,” Bloomberg said.
- Bloomberg also explained why he chose to endorse Biden. “I’ve known Joe for a very long time. I know his decency, his honesty, and his commitment to the issues that are so important to our country – including gun safety, health care, climate change, and good jobs.”
- Bloomberg was well behind on Super Tuesday, despite spending half a billion of his own fortune with this 2020 bid. He spent close to the GDP of American Samoa to win that contest and that contest only.
- President Trump delivered his observation via Twitter on the race after Bloomberg dropped out.
- “Mini Mike Bloomberg just ‘quit’ the race for President. I could have told him long ago that he didn’t have what it takes, and he would have saved himself a billion dollars, the real cost. Now he will pour money into Sleepy Joe’s campaign, hoping to save face. It won’t work!” he wrote.
- Minutes after Bloomberg’s announcement, Biden took to Twitter to praise his rival. “I can’t thank you enough for your support—and for your tireless work on everything from gun safety reform to climate change. This race is bigger than candidates and bigger than politics. It’s about defeating Donald Trump, and with your help, we’re gonna do it.”
Bloomberg vowed to spend freely and ultimately defeat Trump in November’s general election.