After being a punching bag in Nevada, Michael Bloomberg is going on the offensive before he and his 2020 Democratic rivals walk out onto the South Carolina debate stage.
“Bernie Sanders’s dangerous record on gun safety is disqualifying,” Bloomberg’s states director Dan Kanninen told reporters Monday.
Although Kanninen reassured members of the press that Bloomberg, 78, would support Sanders, 78, should he become the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, he described that scenario as a “fatal error” because the socialist Vermont senator’s base is “too insular.”
“Trump himself and now the Russians are indicating that Sen. Sanders is the candidate they want to run against,” Kanninen added.
The attacks, a likely preview of salvos Bloomberg will lob at Sanders during Tuesday night’s South Carolina debate, were reiterated by the billionaire former New York City mayor via his Twitter account.
“In 2005, I signed a local law allowing New Yorkers to sue gun manufacturers for criminal negligence. That same year, Bernie voted to give gun manufacturers IMMUNITY — overriding my efforts to make NYers safer. Care to explain, Bernie?” he tweeted.
In 2005, I signed a local law allowing New Yorkers to sue gun manufacturers for criminal negligence.
That same year, Bernie voted to give gun manufacturers IMMUNITY — overriding my efforts to make NYers safer.
Care to explain, Bernie?
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) February 24, 2020
Earlier Monday, he released an ad emphasizing comments he made over the weekend during an interview with Al Sharpton on MSNBC.
“I’ve fought guns. They all talk about it. We’ve actually done something about it,” the mayor said late Sunday.
[Related: ‘Immoral’: Biden knocks Sanders for past votes against gun control]
The NRA paved the road to Washington for Bernie Sanders.
He spent the next three decades making sure they got a return on their investment.
We deserve a president who is not beholden to the gun lobby.#NotMeNRA pic.twitter.com/HLYZe4J5PM
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) February 24, 2020
Bloomberg needs a strong performance during the South Carolina debate as he heads into the 14 Super Tuesday contests on March 3, the first time his name will appear on ballots or caucus cards this primary season. His campaign manager Kevin Sheekey said last week it took 45 minutes for him “to get his legs” during the Nevada nationally televised event, his maiden appearance of the cycle. CNN agreed to shift his town hall with the network to Wednesday night so he can focus on debate preparation.
“I didn’t have a good night, let’s get serious here. Is that the first time in my life that I’ve had a bad night? No. Will it be the last? No. If you had a debate with everybody on the stage having never had a bad night, nobody would be on stage,” he told MSNBC.
During the MSNBC interview, a rare occurrence as Bloomberg’s media strategy has been to let his $400 million worth of advertising do the talking for him, the ex-mayor also defended ads he approved that were narrated by President Barack Obama, giving the impression the former commander in chief had endorsed him.
