President Trump tore into 2020 Democrat Michael Bloomberg, poking fun at his height and slamming him for not participating in the Democratic primary debates.
“Mini Mike is a 5’4” mass of dead energy who does not want to be on the debate stage with these professional politicians,” the president tweeted Thursday. “No boxes please. He hates Crazy Bernie and will, with enough money, possibly stop him. Bernie’s people will go nuts!”
Mini Mike is a 5’4” mass of dead energy who does not want to be on the debate stage with these professional politicians. No boxes please. He hates Crazy Bernie and will, with enough money, possibly stop him. Bernie’s people will go nuts!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 13, 2020
Bloomberg welcomed the criticism from Trump, saying it shows the president was starting to consider him a threat.
“If he doesn’t mention ya, ya got a big problem,” the former New York City mayor said at a campaign stop.
Now in Greensboro, NC – @MikeBloomberg notes this & another tweet from the President this morning. “If he doesn’t mention ya, ya got a big problem.” Bloomberg speculates that Trump might be looking at his polling & that he might be scared. https://t.co/4e4uXDGVRy
— Maura Barrett (@MauraBarrettNBC) February 13, 2020
He also responded to the president on Twitter, writing, “We know many of the same people in NY. Behind your back they laugh at you & call you a carnival barking clown. They know you inherited a fortune & squandered it with stupid deals and incompetence. I have the record & the resources to defeat you. And I will.”
.@realDonaldTrump – we know many of the same people in NY. Behind your back they laugh at you & call you a carnival barking clown. They know you inherited a fortune & squandered it with stupid deals and incompetence.
I have the record & the resources to defeat you. And I will. https://t.co/fO4azmZaUg
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) February 13, 2020
As Bloomberg has risen rapidly in the polls, the president has begun targeting him with attacks. In addition to claiming the presidential contender wants a box to stand on during debates, Trump sent and then deleted a tweet earlier this week about leaked audio from 2015 in which Bloomberg praised stop-and-frisk policy.
“Wow, Bloomberg is a total racist!” he said in the tweet, which included audio of the former mayor’s comments. Pundits were quick to point out, however, that the president had praised stop and frisk during the 2016 election.
Bloomberg has risen to 14% support nationally in the Democratic primary, according to RealClearPolitics. His rise came as former Vice President Joe Biden performed poorly in the two first-in-the-nation voting states and has dipped in the polls.
