Michael Bloomberg ponders 2020 run for president

Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has outlined an aggressive timeline for deciding whether to run for president.

Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is pondering running for US president. Picture: AP

Having spent a fortune to help elect Democrats in the mid-terms, former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has outlined an aggressive timeline for deciding whether to run for president in 2020.

“I think January, February would be about as late as you can do it and as early as you can gather enough information,” Mr Bloomberg said yesterday.

The 76-year-old billionaire said his decision would have little to do with other Democratic presidential prospects. He conceded that “it’s much too early to tell” whether he had a legitimate chance of winning the Democratic presidential nomination, and, with it, the chance to take on another New York billionaire, President Donald Trump.

“Thanksgiving, Christmas and then maybe a few weeks into January — that’s when you really gotta sit down, talk to your advisers and say, ‘Look, do I have a chance?’ I think I know why I would want to run. I think I know what I think this country should do and what I would do. But I just don’t know whether it’s possible,” Mr Bloomberg said.

“If people don’t seem to be warming to you, there’s plenty of other ways that I can make a difference in life and say thank you to this country for what it’s given my kids and me.”

Should he run, Mr Bloomberg would bring virtually limitless resources and a pragmatic governing approach to what is expected to be a huge 2020 Democratic field. Hardly a far-left liberal, he is described by his team as socially progressive and business-minded. He has spent tens of millions of dollars to promote liberal priorities on climate change, gun control and immigration.

Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, offered a lukewarm assessment this week when asked about Mr Bloomberg’s $110 million investment in his party’s 2018 mid-term efforts.

“I applaud everybody who was involved,” Mr Perez said. “Very ­appreciative of Mayor Bloomberg. Equally appreciative of those grassroots activists who were knocking on doors every weekend, texting people, investing 50 bucks in the Democratic Party.”

Long an active political donor to candidates in both parties, Mr Bloomberg gave almost exclusively to Democrats for the first time. The decision, he explained, was born out of his concern that ­Republicans who controlled the house and Senate weren’t providing an adequate check on the Trump presidency.

Yet this political season marked a permanent shift in his political identity, he said. “I will be a Democrat for the rest of my life,” Mr Bloomberg said.

Initially registered as a Democrat, the Massachusetts ­native filed paperwork to change his voter registration to Republican in 2000 before his first run for New York City mayor, according to a spokesman. In June 2007, he unenrolled from the GOP, having no formal party affiliation until he registered again as a Democrat last month.

Mr Bloomberg acknowledged he had already formulated his justification for a presidential bid, but he declined to share it when asked. Still, he offered a message to any critics who might not think he ­belongs in the Democratic Party.

“I was the one who stood up for gay marriage long before it ­became popular. I was the one at the national convention who said Trump was a conman,’’ he said.

“If you find anybody that’s done more on these issues than I have, and the people that I’ve been lucky enough to work with, please give me a call. I’d like to hire ’em.”

AP