2020 Democrat Michael Bloomberg dismissed the idea that stop and frisk was a discriminatory policing practice.
Bloomberg, in his first town hall televised by CNN, was asked by host Anderson Cooper on Wednesday if the policy, whether “intentionally or not,” was “a racist policy.”
“No,” the former New York City mayor, 78, said before touting his work in diversifying the police department and how elements of the approach were still kept in place “by all cities.”
Under the stop-and-frisk framework, individuals were detained for a short period of time to check if they had illegal weapons or other contraband. The way in which the New York City Police Department administered the policy was ruled unconstitutional by a federal court in 2013, the last year of Bloomberg’s 12-year tenure as mayor.
Bloomberg has repeatedly apologized for the program since just before announcing his Democratic presidential campaign last November, admitting, “We just did it much too much, and an awful lot of innocent people got stopped.”
“It was my mistake, and I apologized for it. I’ve asked for forgiveness, but I can’t rewrite history, and I’ve got to make sure we don’t do it in the future,” he said during the town hall.
Bloomberg was pressed on a range of issues, including how President Trump and his administration were “not ready” to respond to a epidemic such as coronavirus, his weaker-than-expected debate performances in which the candidates just “talk over each other,” and how he supported President Barack Obama despite former Vice President Joe Biden’s insistence he did not. The billionaire information services entrepreneur was also pushed on his stance on reparations.
“I’ve agreed to a study. I was asked to sign onto that. I said, ‘Fine,’ and we’ll see,” he said, adding he would prefer to see investments in education as opposed to monetary compensation.
The presidential contender also cleared up a spat between his campaign advisers and their counterparts working for Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of his chief rivals for the nomination. Sanders aides said they wouldn’t want Bloomberg’s resources for the general election should the Vermont senator, 78, be chosen as the party’s next standard-bearer, representing Democrats in the fall fight against Trump.
“I will support any of the Democrats,” he said. “We have these campaign offices all over the country, and we will keep [most of] those open through Nov. 3, so whoever the nominee is can use them.”
Bloomberg’s appearance preceded Saturday’s South Carolina primary, but the mayor won’t appear on a ballot or caucus card until Super Tuesday on March 3.
