Democratic
presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg speaks at the Greenwood Cultural
Center in Tulsa, Okla., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Video from 2011 surfaces of Bloomberg saying, 'many black
and Latino males don't know how to behave in the workplace.'
Michael
Bloomberg will be on the debate stage Wednesday night in Las Vegas, and he made it just under the wire.
The former New York City mayor and 2020 presidential candidate qualified for the Nevada
Democratic presidential primary debate at the last minute, notching 19 percent
support in a Marist, Newshour and NPR/PBS poll, the fourth national
poll to put him above the 10 percent mark since Jan. 15. That means the
billionaire, who has spent more than $400 million of his fortune on
advertising, meets the polling threshold set by the DNC for the debate.
Bloomberg will be on the debate stage, his campaign
confirmed in a statement.
"Our campaign is seeing a groundswell of support
across the country, and qualifying for the February 19 debate is the latest
sign that Mike’s plan and ability to defeat Donald Trump is resonating with
more and more Americans," campaign manager Kevin Sheekey said Tuesday
morning. "Mike is looking forward to joining the other Democratic
candidates on stage and making the case for why he's the best candidate to
defeat Donald Trump and unite the country. The opportunity to discuss his
workable and achievable plans for the challenges facing this country is an
important part of the campaign process."
Bloomberg is skipping the first four primary states --
Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina -- to focus on saturating Super
Tuesday states with ads and to campaign in the 14 states that will vote on that
day while other candidates are grinding it out in the early states. This
strategy has allowed him to pass other candidates in national polls despite
their strong showings in Iowa and New Hampshire.
This will be the first time Bloomberg will appear in a
debate after entering the presidential race in November.
Previously, one of the criteria for candidates to get on
the debate stage was their number of donors, but the DNC changed those
rules for the Nevada debate in late January, opening the door for Bloomberg to
make the stage. That decision drew criticism from his Democratic competitors,
who have previously characterized Bloomberg as trying to "buy" the
presidency.
"The DNC didn’t change the rules to ensure good,
diverse candidates could remain on the debate stage. They shouldn’t change the
rules to let a billionaire on. Billionaires shouldn't be allowed to play by
different rules—on the debate stage, in our democracy, or in our
government," Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts tweeted at the time.
The fact Bloomberg didn't appear at the most recent
debates previously drew ridicule from President Trump.
"Mini Mike Bloomberg doesn't get on the Democrat
Debate Stage because he doesn't want to - he is a terrible debater and speaker.
If he did, he would go down in the polls even more (if that is
possible!)," Trump tweeted last month.
But instead of sinking in the polls, Bloomberg
has seen his presidential stock quickly rise, jumping from 4 percent in
the Dec. 2019 Marist, Newshour and PBS/NPR poll to 19 percent in the one
released Tuesday. He only trails Sanders in Tuesday's poll, who has 31 percent,
with former Vice President Joe Biden and Warren the only other
candidates in double-digits.
The higher poll numbers have led to increased
scrutiny on the billionaire New Yorker, who has seen his previous comments
about women, minorities, blue-collar workers and more come back to be used as
ammunition by his Democratic competitors and many on the right.
The other candidates who have qualified for Wednesday's
debate are former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Biden,
Sanders, Warren, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.
Candidates could also qualify by earning at least one
pledged delegate from Iowa or New Hampshire, or receiving 12 percent support in
two polls from Nevada or South Carolina.
