Bloomberg Says He’s Running Due to ‘Greater Risk’ of Trump Win
- Former New York mayor defends decision to self-fund campaign
- Bloomberg made first campaign stop after announcing 2020 bid
Michael Bloomberg speaks in Norfolk, Virginia, on Nov. 25.
Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday he changed his mind and decided to make a late entry into the 2020 Democratic presidential race out of fears that the current field of candidates would lose to Donald Trump.
“I think that there is a greater risk of having Donald Trump re-elected than there was before, and in the end, I looked in the mirror and said, ‘We just cannot let this happen,’” Bloomberg told reporters in Norfolk, Virginia, in his first campaign stop after announcing his bid on Sunday. Bloomberg said in March he would not seek the White House in 2020, and also decided against a run in 2016.