Billionaire Michael Bloomberg launches presidential bid, vowing to ‘defeat Donald Trump’

The US election race has been rocked after an unlikely contender entered the ring. And it could spell trouble for Donald Trump.

Billionaire mogul Michael Bloomberg has confirmed a presidential run for the 2020 US election, ending weeks of speculation.

“I’m running for president to defeat Donald Trump and rebuild America,” the former New York City mayor said in a statement.

“We cannot afford four more years of President Trump’s reckless and unethical actions. He represents an existential threat to our country and our values. If he wins another term in office, we may never recover from the damage.”

The 77-year-old is jumping into the race unusually late — just 10 weeks before primary voting begins, and almost a year after Senator Elizabeth Warren announced she was exploring a candidacy.

His campaign has reserved more than $US30 million in television ad time, deemed the largest ad buy in primary election history.

The billionaire released a short campaign video focusing on his performance as mayor after the September 11 attacks, as well as his track record on gun control, climate change and immigration.

I’m running for president to defeat Donald Trump and rebuild America.

I believe my unique set of experiences in business, government, and philanthropy will enable me to win and lead.

Join our team: https://t.co/7ezlUeouqH pic.twitter.com/IyOeS3aWaF

— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) November 24, 2019

He does not speak in his announcement video, which casts him as a successful businessman who came from humble roots and ultimately “put his money where his heart is” to effect change on the top policy issues of the day — gun violence, climate change, immigration and equality, among them.

Mr Bloomberg has announced that his campaign will be entirely self-funded, meaning he won’t qualify for the Democratic presidential debates under current rules.

“He has never taken a political contribution in his life,” chief adviser Howard Wolfson told the Associated Press. “He is not about to start. He cannot be bought.”

Mr Bloomberg has already vowed to spend at least $US150 million ($AU221 million) of his fortune on various pieces of a 2020 campaign, including more than $US100 million ($AU147 million) for internet ads attacking Mr Trump and more than $US30 million ($AU44 million) on an initial round of television ads.

He did not say how much he would be willing to spend overall on his presidential ambitions, but senior adviser Howard Wolfson did: “Whatever it takes to defeat Donald Trump.”

Mr Wolfson also said that Mr Bloomberg would not accept a single political donation for his campaign or take a salary should he become president.

WHO IS MICHAEL BLOOMBERG?

Mr Bloomberg started out in business as a Wall Street banker before he eventually founded the financial publishing empire that bears his surname.

Forbes ranked Mr Bloomberg as the 11th-richest person in the world last year with a net worth of roughly $US50 billion ($73.7 billion).

President Donald Trump, by contrast, was ranked 259th with a net worth of just over $3 billion ($4.4 billion).

Mr Bloomberg was a Democrat before being elected mayor in 2001 as a Republican. He remained in office for three consecutive terms until 2013.

He switched to being an independent before returning to the Democratic party in 2018.

In June 2007, he unenrolled from the GOP, having no formal party affiliation until he registered again as a Democrat this October.

He vowed allegiance to the party earlier in the year, saying: “I will be a Democrat for the rest of my life.”

As a centrist with deep ties to Wall Street, Mr Bloomberg is expected to struggle among the party’s energised progressive base.

Billionaire mogul Michael Bloomberg has confirmed a presidential run for the 2020 US election.

Fellow Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders said he was “disgusted” by the announcement, saying the billionaire as “no business running for president”.

I’m disgusted by the idea that Michael Bloomberg or any billionaire thinks they can circumvent the political process and spend tens of millions of dollars to buy elections.

If you can’t build grassroots support for your candidacy, you have no business running for president. https://t.co/jyIBVXUToj

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) November 22, 2019

Ms Warren also slammed Mr Bloomberg on Saturday, accusing him of trying to buy the presidency.

Mike Bloomberg is placing $34 million in TV ads in one week—the most of any presidential candidate in history.

That’s one way to pay less under my #WealthTax. Because in a Warren administration, he and his billionaire friends would finally have to pay their fair share. https://t.co/qWHtk37zaM

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) November 23, 2019

Mr Trump mocked Mr Bloomberg earlier this month, saying there was “nobody I’d rather run against than little Michael”.

Mr Bloomberg filed paperwork for the Democratic primary election in Alabama that same day.

Bloomberg News, which employs roughly 2700 journalists, has announced that it will continue to cover the 2020 election, but will not do in-depth investigations of its boss.

“We will write about virtually all aspects of this presidential contest in much the same way as we have done so far,” John Micklethwait, Bloomberg Editorial and Research’s editor in chief, said in a statement.

“We will describe who is winning and who is losing,” he added. “We will look at policies and their consequences. We will carry polls, we will interview candidates and we will track their campaigns, including Mike’s.

“We have already assigned a reporter to follow his campaign (just as we did when Mike was in City Hall). And in the stories we write on the presidential contest, we will make clear that our owner is now a candidate.”

He also noted several journalists in the opinion section would take leaves of absence to join his campaign.

— with AP