For the second time this election cycle, a Democratic billionaire is spending his money on efforts to remove President Trump from office.
Michael Bloomberg, 77, this week launched an ad aimed at shaming Senate Republicans into voting to convict Trump, 73, as part of his trial addressing two articles of impeachment: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
“And if they won’t do their jobs, this November, you and I will,” Bloomberg, a late entry into the 2020 Democratic presidential race, says in the 30-second spot.
To try and assuage Democrats worried he’d launch an independent White House bid if he doesn’t secure the party’s nomination, Bloomberg has vowed to use his campaign structure to vote Trump out of office in the fall. The media mogul and former New York City mayor, estimated to have a net worth of $60 billion, has built out a staff of 1,000-plus people since announcing his candidacy, based on a “Super Tuesday” strategy, last November.
The latest ad buy, which brings his total to $248 million, about $224 million of which has been spent on TV, appears in line with that promise. The ad is airing in about 27 states, such as Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and North Carolina, where Sens. Martha McSally, Cory Gardner, Susan Collins, and Thom Tillis respectively face tough reelection fights, according to the Washington Post. It also appears on national cable networks, including CNN, ESPN, and MSNBC.
A Bloomberg spokesman didn’t immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment, but the spot echoes the candidate’s comments this week that he would vote to oust Trump if he were a senator.
“I was asked if I were a senator, how would I vote? And I’d have to swallow two or three times, but I would say I would vote to convict because there’s just so much evidence that he acted inappropriately,” he told NBC.
Bloomberg joins hedge fund manager, environmentalist, and presidential hopeful Tom Steyer, 62, in spending significant amounts of money on impeachment ads. Steyer, estimated to have a net worth of $1.6 billion, pushed for Trump’s removal through his “Need to Impeach” campaign. Steyer’s impeachment campaign began when he was an outlier on the issue, trying to convince a reluctant House Democratic leadership to move forward.
Bloomberg averages 7% in national polls, according to RealClearPolitics data. Meanwhile, Steyer, who’s qualified for the primary debates after he announced last July, averages 2.4%.
