Michael Bloomberg’s closing argument to Democrats before Super Tuesday highlighted his managerial record, pitching his crisis management experience amid fears about the coronavirus, but a last-minute food faux pas is proving to be a distraction.
“At times like this, it is the job of the president to reassure the public that he or she is taking all the steps necessary to protect the health and well-being of every citizen,” Bloomberg, 78, said during a three-minute public address his campaign paid to broadcast on CBS and NBC over the weekend.
“The public wants to know their leader is trained, informed, and respected. When a problem arises, they want someone in charge who can marshal facts and expertise to confront the problem,” the billionaire former New York City mayor added.
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But conservatives with large Twitter followings lit into Bloomberg on Tuesday after a video of him eating pizza at a Virginia stop the day before went viral. In the video, he can be seen taking a bite and quickly licking the sauce off his thumb before using the same hand to push away another slice in the box. It’s not clear whether anyone ate part of the same pizza after Bloomberg.
“Mike Bloomberg licking his fingers and touching food and putting it back in the box then touching the coffee box is exactly how Coronavirus gets spread,” said Turning Point USA’s Benny Johnson.
Mike Bloomberg licking his fingers and touching food and putting it back in the box then touching the coffee box is exactly how Coronavirus gets spread: pic.twitter.com/bq8eXMUR6d
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) March 3, 2020
Mike Bloomberg should be the Czar of stopping the Coronavirus.
?#SuperTuesday pic.twitter.com/D77fyYNxRO
— #ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) March 3, 2020
Mike Bloomberg demonstrates how to help spread the coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/kcuQjSGzL5
— ForAmerica (@ForAmerica) March 3, 2020
Though a lighthearted dig at Bloomberg, the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates have been heavily critical of President Trump’s response to the threat of the COVID-19 virus, particularly his assertion Democratic scrutiny was part of a “new hoax.”
Super Tuesday is a big day for Bloomberg, who entered the race late and skipped the early voting contests. He will appear on ballots in 14 states and one U.S. territory for the first time this primary cycle. He was poised to do well in a slew of delegate-rich states, but it’s unclear whether the eleventh-hour coalescing of support behind chief center-left rival Joe Biden will siphon away votes.
