Michael Bloomberg is pushing back on President Trump ribbing his debating skills.
“I want to debate, but I don’t qualify because I’ve never taken a penny in contributions from anyone,” Bloomberg tweeted. “Not even a ‘very small loan’ of a million dollars.”
I want to debate, but I don’t qualify because I’ve never taken a penny in contributions from anyone.
Not even a “very small loan” of a million dollars. https://t.co/Nu3dG51650
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) January 17, 2020
Trump, 73, implied on Twitter Friday morning that the last-minute 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, 77, had elected not to debate because he was “a terrible debater and speaker.” The former New York City mayor, media mogul, and billionaire philanthropist can’t qualify for the Democratic Party-sanctioned events, which have polling and fundraising requirements, due to his choice to self-fund his White House bid. The Democratic National Committee could revisit the rules at a later date so Bloomberg could take part.
Trump, another billionaire from New York, has claimed to have gotten his start in the real estate business thanks to a “small loan” of $1 million from his father.
Bloomberg’s influence so far in the Democratic primary has been difficult to assess since he isn’t vying for the right to challenge Trump in the fall in the four early voting states. Instead, since announcing his candidacy last November, he’s been focusing on the 14 “Super Tuesday” states, which weigh in on the race on March 3.
Although Bloomberg hasn’t shied away from taking shots at his Democratic rivals, much of his campaign rhetoric and resources have been aimed at Trump, including purchasing Super Bowl ads to run on Feb. 2.
“He was reasonably well-known. He was a real estate promoter,” he said. “A lot of the buildings he didn’t build. He just put his name on it.”
[Read more: Michael Bloomberg presidential campaign spending $4.2 million per day on ads]
