Sanders Blasts Bloomberg For Trying To ‘Buy The Presidency’

2020 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders went after White House rival Michael Bloomberg on Sunday, accusing the billionaire of trying to “buy the presidency” with his onslaught of costly TV ads.

Bernie: Bloomberg Trying to ‘Buy the Presidency’

While campaigning in Nevada, Sanders noted Bloomberg’s absence from the early primary states while also criticizing the former New York City mayor for spending more than any other candidate in 2020 on TV ads.

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“Hey guys, how do you buy the presidency? Well, you buy the presidency, at least he’s going to try to buy the presidency, by spending hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars on TV ads,” Sanders said. “I didn’t see Mike in Iowa … I didn’t see Mike in New Hampshire. … Hey, you know what? I didn’t see him here in Nevada!”

“Well, I got news for Mr. Bloomberg, and that is the American people are sick and tired of billionaires buying elections,” Sanders added to applause from the crowd.

Bloomberg Spending More on TV Ads than All Other Presidential Candidates Combined

Sanders’s remarks come in the wake of Bloomberg outshining the entire 2020 field in television ad spending. According to CNBC, Bloomberg has spent more than twice what President Trump’s campaign and every other Democratic presidential campaign has–combined.

The Vermont senator has consistently gone after Bloomberg since the former mayor officially entered the 2020 Democratic primary, accusing the billionaire of promoting “racist” policing tactics while he served as mayor of New York City.

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Will Bloomberg Be in the Next Debate?

As of now, it is not clear that Bloomberg will make the debate stage next week when the Democratic contenders hold their next event in Las Vegas. This was after the Democratic National Committee changed the rules allowing latecomer Bloomberg to participate in the debates.

Democratic strategist Brad Bannon told The Hill, “I think the transparency is important because you can’t ignore the fact that he’s a major player in the race.”

“He is running a race that he completely controls,” Bannon added. “The Democratic primary voters should have the opportunity to have an unfiltered view of Bloomberg, in person, face to face with the other candidates.”