Michael Bloomberg leaps into Democrat presidential bid

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has joined a crowded Democratic field, vowing to ‘defeat Donald Trump and rebuild America’.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will run for the Democratic presidential nomination. Picture: AFP

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg will wage the most expensive election campaign in US history in an 11th-hour bid to snatch the Democrat nomination to challenge ­Donald Trump for the White House.

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The formal entry of the 77-year-old mogul will shake up a Democrat contest that has so far failed to produce a candidate to ­inspire those Americans hoping to defeat Mr Trump next year.

The former New York mayor said he would be “a new choice for Democrats” and was entering the race to defeat a president who “represents an existential threat to our country and our values”.

“Defeating Donald Trump — and rebuilding America — is the most urgent and important fight of our lives. And I’m going all in,” Mr Bloomberg said.

“I offer myself as a doer and a problem solver — not a talker. And someone who is ready to take on the tough fights — and win.

“We cannot afford four more years of President Trump’s reckless and unethical actions. If he wins another term in office, we may never recover from the damage.”

Mr Bloomberg, whose estimated wealth of $US54bn dwarfs that of Mr Trump ($US3.1bn), has ­reserved $US35m in initial television commercials, easily outspending his 17 Democrat rivals. He says he will spend more than $US100m on his self-funded campaign to win the nomination.

Donald Trump speaks to Michael Bloomberg. Picture: AFP

Mr Bloomberg is a moderate who at times has been a Republican and whose entry into the race will challenge the leading moderates Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar.

In the face of the biggest spending campaign, other candidates hit back at their new rival.

“I don’t have that money, that’s true,” Senator Klobuchar said. “Maybe the argument is, ‘Hey, I’ve got more money than the guy in the White House.’ I don’t think (voters) are going to buy that. I think they want someone different.”

Bernie Sanders, a leading candidate of the left, referred to the US Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision overturning ­restrictions on independent ­expenditure for political communications. “We do not believe that billionaires have the right to buy elections,and that is why we are going to overturn Citizens United, that is why multi-billionaires like Mr Bloomberg are not going to get very far in this election,” Senator Sanders said.

Despite his vast wealth, Mr Bloomberg faces some major ­obstacles to win the nomination.

He is a late entry into a crowded field and has missed the registration deadline to contest the first four primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. This means he has to come from behind to win at a time when another candidate may have gained the momentum.

He also has to overcome a reputation for making demeaning comments about women earlier in his career and a record of promoting law and order policies that, while popular, discriminated against African-American and Latino men. Last week, to clear the decks ahead of his run, Mr Bloomberg apologised for his “stop and frisk” policy that allowed New York police to stop anyone they suspected of criminal behaviour during his 12-year term as mayor.

Mr Bloomberg has considered running for president several times, including as an independent. Nine months ago he ruled out running in 2020 but the perceived weakness in the Democrat field made him change his mind.

He is pro gun control, pro business and pro renewable energy but wants to expand healthcare within the parameters of Obamacare rather than the sweeping Medicare For All plans of Senator Sanders and fellow left-wing candidate Elizabeth Warren.

Mr Bloomberg has previously been sceptical of the Democrats’ push to impeach Mr Trump ­because he said it was a partisan process that would not lead to the President’s removal.

House of Representatives intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff on Monday declined to say whether there would be an impeachment vote, despite claiming the evidence against Mr Trump was “already overwhelming”.

Now the public impeachment hearings are over he declined to give a timeline for the inquiry, saying he would take “whatever time is necessary”.

The Democrats are expected to pass a vote on impeachment in the house before Christmas, leaving it to the Republican-controlled Senate to conduct a trial of the President in January. At present there are no Republicans who have said they would vote for impeachment either in the house or in the Senate, meaning Mr Trump will easily survive the impeachment process.

Cameron Stewart is also US contributor for Sky News Australia