Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, is considering running for president in 2020, according to CBSNewYork, which cited unnamed sources.
The 76-year-old Bloomberg considered a presidential run as an independent in 2016 but in the end chose not to run. Last November, in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg said he chose not to run because “I just couldn’t win” as an independent, given the strong support both political parties put behind their chosen candidates.
In April, Bloomberg said on CBS’ Face the Nation that he wasn’t considering a run in the 2020 election “at the moment.” Asked then with the odds were for potential run, he replied, “Not very high.”
Last week, the New York Times reported that the billionaire was planning to spend $80 million in the 2018 midterm elections, with most of the money going to support Democratic congressional candidates.
“I believe that ‘We the People’ cannot afford to elect another Congress that lacks the courage to reach across the aisle and the independence to assert its constitutional authority,” Bloomberg wrote in a statement outlining his thinking on the 2018 mid-terms. “And so I will support Democratic candidates who are committed to doing both.”
In 2002, Bloomberg successfully ran for mayor of New York as a Republican. He left the party in 2007 and served as mayor until 2013. In recent years, he has taken left-of-center positions on issues such as gun control, immigration, and global warming. He has reportedly told associates that if he were to run for president in 2020, he would likely do so as a Democrat.
After declining to run as an independent, Bloomberg endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. In a speech during the Democratic national convention, he referred to Donald Trump a con man and a “dangerous demagogue” who must be defeated.
“Trump says he wants to run the nation like he’s run his business,” Bloomberg said in his convention speech. “God help us. I’m a New Yorker, and I know a con when I see one.”
Bloomberg, who started out an investment bank Salomon Brothers before founding Bloomberg in the 1980s, also considered a presidential run in 2008.