Primary Democrats: billionaire Michael Bloomberg enters the arena

Accused by his rivals of having "bought" his place in the American presidential election, treated as "egocentric billionaire", the former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg should face, Wednesday, February 19, the crossfire of the other candidates for the Democratic inauguration, during his first televised debate in the campaign.

The Democratic debate, organized in the evening in Las Vegas, Nevada (2 a.m. GMT Thursday), promises to be heated between the candidates who hope to challenge the Republican Donald Trump during the presidential election in November.

Ninth richest man in the world in 2019 according to Forbes, Michael Bloomberg presents himself as a candidate capable of rallying in the center. The former boss of the Bloomberg agency finances his candidacy with hundreds of millions of dollars from his personal funds.

"I have something to say to Mr. Bloomberg: Americans are fed up with billionaires buying the elections," said independent senator Bernie Sanders, a favorite in polls for the Democratic primaries, this weekend.

"It is a shame that Mike Bloomberg can buy his place in the debates," added Tuesday the progressive senator Elizabeth Warren, calling him "self-centered billionaire".

It's a shame Mike Bloomberg can buy his way into the debate. But at least now primary voters curious about how each candidate will take on Donald Trump can get a live demonstration of how we each take on an egomaniac billionaire. https://t.co/H02radEZcv

Without having yet presented himself to a single primary, Michael Bloomberg climbed to third place - out of eight candidates in the running - of the average of the national polls, behind Bernie Sanders and the former moderate vice-president Joe Biden.

After a very late entry into the campaign, in November, the billionaire opted for a strategy extremely rare in the history of American primaries: to ignore the first four states which vote in February (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and Caroline from South).

>> Read: Democratic primaries: Joe Biden, a favorite on alert

At 78, he will therefore enter the race during "Super Tuesday" on March 3, when the next 14 states will vote.

By counting on these states rich in "delegates", Michael Bloomberg thinks he can make up for his delay. Because it is the one or the one who will obtain a majority of delegates (1 991) who will win the nomination of the party.

With a personal fortune estimated by Forbes at around $ 60 billion, he has already spent more than $ 300 million on advertising spots that run in a loop. Michael Bloomberg highlights his commitment to the fight against climate change and the violence against firearms that is ravaging the United States. But without convincing the left wing of the party which observes with hostility this former Republican who became independent before becoming a Democrat.

Attacks on Michael Bloomberg and Donald Trump

Critics are also on the side of moderate candidates, who are indignant at former remarks by Michael Bloomberg, perceived as discriminatory.

The former mayor thus apologized for having long defended arbitrary arrests and searches ("stop-and-frisk"), accused of having caused an explosion of facies controls in New York. He is now putting forward his proposals supposed to help minorities and has received the support of influential black elected officials who welcome his apologies and call for moving forward.

Among Democratic voters, only one objective prevails: to choose the candidate able to beat Donald Trump on November 3. And some people rightly see Michael Bloomberg as their best option.

Why do you want to run against Bernie so badly? https://t.co/HOnHap4QdL

The two billionaires are already crossing iron on social networks. The Republican President regularly nicknamed the Democratic candidate "Mini Mike", alluding to his size (1.70 m). On Tuesday, he also accused him, without evidence, of "illegally buying the Democratic nomination."

Michael Bloomberg does it well, saying that the Republican is afraid of facing him in the presidential election. This "self-made man" also quips at the fortune of the American president, whom he "inherited from his father and spent badly".

The debate is held Wednesday in Nevada because this western American state will organize Saturday the third vote of the primaries. Bernie Sanders leads the average of the few surveys conducted in Nevada, followed by Joe Biden then Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg.

With AFP

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