By James Crowley
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Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders ripped into former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's $30 million advertising campaign, as the latter is reportedly considering entering the 2020 Democratic presidential race.
In a statement released Friday, Sanders slammed the billionaire:
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Sanders' statement came after The New York Times reported that Bloomberg spent over $30 million for a week's worth of campaign ads. Sanders thought the move this late in the 2020 race was an attempt to bypass the traditional political process.
"I'm disgusted by the idea that Michael Bloomberg or any other billionaire thinks they can circumvent the political process and spend tens of millions of dollars to buy our elections," Sanders said.
The massive amount of money spent on the ad campaign is significantly more than each Democratic candidate, with the exception of billionaire Tom Steyer, spent on ads in 2019. The Hill reported that Bloomberg's ad campaign is the largest amount any candidate has spent for a week of advertising.
"It's just the latest example of a rigged political system that we are going to change when we're in the White House," Sanders said.
Sanders also set himself apart from the billionaire candidate in the release, emphasizing the grassroots support and growth that his 2016 campaign had. "If you can't build grassroots support for your candidacy, you have no business running for president," he said.
Sanders declared that the former mayor's late decision to join the race is mainly informed by the amount of money he can spend on his campaign. He advised that many voters will see through Bloomberg's efforts. "The American people are sick and tired of the power of billionaires, and I suspect they won't react well to someone trying to buy an election," he said.
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At an Iowa rally earlier this month, Sanders also warned Bloomberg that Americans will not let a billionaire "buy this election." He declared that his campaign would put a stop to billionaires and wealthy campaign donors from dominating the political system. "Tonight we say to Michael Bloomberg and other billionaires: sorry, you ain't going to buy this election," he said at the time. "You're not going to buy this election by spending hundreds of millions of dollars on media in California. Those days are gone."
Sanders' fellow presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren also weighed in on Bloomberg's campaign spending. Referencing her proposed wealth tax, which would place taxes on households with a net worth of $50 million or more, the senator called out the former New York mayor for his excessive spending. "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," she tweeted.
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