Michael Bloomberg Responds to Criticism He's Trying to Buy Election

(Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg responded to criticism from Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and other rivals that he's trying to buy the election by self-financing his campaign, saying they had the same opportunity in life to build up a fortune as he did.

The former New York mayor said in an interview on “CBS This Morning” that he didn't come from a wealthy family and earned his money by building up his business. He said his rivals, too, “had a chance to go out and make a lot of money.”

“I'm doing exactly the same thing they're doing, except that I am using my own money,” Bloomberg said. “They're using somebody else's money and those other people expect something from them. Nobody gives you money if they don't expect something. I don't want to be bought.”

The former New York mayor said he intends to entirely self-fund his campaign and has already booked more than $64 million in television ads since announcing his candidacy on Nov. 24, according to Advertising Analytics, which tracks political commercials.

@MikeBloomberg responds to some of his opponents' claims that he's trying to ‘buy the election.'

“I'm doing exactly the same thing they're doing, except that I am using my own money … I don't want to be bought.” https://t.co/Rqh3mnNsCV pic.twitter.com/xFo7UYPMWJ

December 6, 2019

Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.

Bloomberg was asked about remarks by Democratic Senator Cory Booker, who is African-American, that with the departure of Senator Kamala Harris, the race has “more billionaires than black people.”

Bloomberg responded that Booker was “well-spoken. He's got some good ideas.”

Booker reacted in an interview with Sirius XM Radio's “Signal Boost” show, saying he was “taken aback.”

“It's sort of stunning at times that we are still revisiting these sort of tired tropes,” Booker said. “Folks don't understand and the fact that they don't understand is problematic.”

Bloomberg was asked what he meant by the comment during a campaign stop Friday in Augusta, Georgia, and said he and Booker have previously supported each other's campaigns and that he “probably shouldn't have used the word.”

“But I can just tell you he is a friend of mine, and he is a Rhodes Scholar -- which is much more impressive than my academic background,” Bloomberg said. “I envy him, and he can certainly speak for himself.”

During his interview on CBS, Bloomberg also defended the company's policy of not investigating him or other Democrats while continuing to investigate President Donald Trump, saying that Bloomberg News carries coverage from many top news outlets so those kinds of stories are available to its readers.

“People have said to me, ‘How can you investigate yourself?”' he said. “And I said, ‘I don't think you can.'”

He also said in response to concerns that Bloomberg journalists can't investigate Democrats by saying, “They get a paycheck, but with your paycheck comes some restrictions and responsibilities.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Niquette in Columbus at mniquette@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Max Berley

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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