Collin Anderson of the Washington Free Beacon highlights an interesting piece of Michael Bloomberg’s political past.
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has already poured hundreds of millions of dollars into his last-minute presidential bid, but the 2020 Democratic hopeful once described multimillion-dollar ad campaigns as “obscene” spending that would “annoy people.”
Bloomberg dismissed 2001 reports that he would spend upward of $30 million on his initial run for mayor in New York City. “At some point, you start to look obscene,” Bloomberg told New York magazine. “There’s a limited amount of ad time you can buy. It becomes dysfunctional; you annoy people with ads.”
Bloomberg went on to spend $73 million on his mayoral campaign, outspending his Democratic challenger Mark Green five-to-one. The billionaire defended his excessive ad buys during his 2005 reelection campaign, denying that the ads annoyed New Yorkers during a mayoral debate.
“I guess the question is, are you bugging people?” moderator Dave Evans asked after reading Bloomberg’s previous comments. “I don’t think there’s any evidence,” Bloomberg responded.
The New York City business mogul spent a combined $261 million on his three mayoral campaigns, a figure he has now eclipsed in just the first three months of his presidential campaign. Bloomberg, who is worth an estimated $60 billion, has already spent at least $344 million on his campaign.
He has become a favorite target for progressive presidential hopefuls since launching his campaign in November. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) accused the former mayor of “buying the presidency” to avoid her proposed wealth tax. The billionaire has been unapologetic about his financial advantage, focusing instead on how he is not beholden to outside influences.
