Bloomberg Plans to Spend At Least $500 Million to Defeat Trump in 2020

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is reportedly prepared to spend a minimum of $500 million of his own money to stop Donald Trump from winning a second term in the White House.

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“Michael Bloomberg is preparing to spend at least $500 million from his own pocket to deny President Trump a second term”

Democratic insiders briefed on the billionaire’s plans said that Bloomberg will either use the money to fund his own campaign against Trump in 2020 or to fuel an “unprecedented shadow political party” for whoever emerges as the Democratic nominee.

Kevin Sheekey, a top Bloomberg advisor gave more details about the billionaire’s plans:

“That’ll get us through the first few months. Mike spent $100 million in his last New York City election. And you can do the math as you think more broadly but New York City is 3 percent of the national population.”

“I’m not suggesting it’s straight math. But I’m suggesting that when Mike Bloomberg is committed to making a difference and seeing something though, generally speaking he’s pretty unabashed in doing so.”

Bloomberg’s $500 million plan is just 1 percent of his estimated net worth. He said at an event in Orlando last Friday that he plans to come to a decision in “three more weeks,” according to POLITICO.

“My decision doesn’t depend on what other people are going to do,” Bloomberg said. “My decision depends on whether or not I think I can make a difference.”

In October Bloomberg rejoined the Democratic Party, fueling speculation that he would be running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020.

Bloomberg is not the first billionaire to announce that he wants to spend huge amounts of money to make sure that Donald Trump (if he runs) is defeated in his bid for a second term in 2020.

Last fall billionaire Tom Steyer said that he was planning to spend upwards of $100 million to defeat Trump, and he has pondered running for president himself. 

More recently, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has been on a public tour exploring the possibility of running in 2020 even though all polls show that his chances of actually winning the presidency are practically zero.

Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.