Mike Bloomberg's campaign, facing withering criticisms during Wednesday's debate in Las Vega, itself went on the attack by sounding an alarm about the perceived frontrunner, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. It also suggested laggards drop out to help halt the Sanders rise.
As Axios reported, Kevin Sheekey, Bloomberg's top strategist, said Wednesday, "The fact is if the state of this race remains status quo — with Biden, Pete (Buttigieg) and Amy (Klobuchar) in the race on Super Tuesday — Bernie is likely to open up a delegate lead that seems nearly impossible to overcome.
"I don’t think many people understand the dire circumstances here."
Many Democrats have expressed reservations about Sanders as standard bearer in November because he is an extreme progressive, a self-described Democratic socialist whose key issues include Medicare for All.
Some recent polling as shown that while Sanders is popular, many Democratic voters are hesitant to vote for a Democratic socialist for president.
During the debate, Bloomberg took heat for statements on minorities and women, among other groups. He also was criticized for his backing of stop-and-frisk policies while mayor of New York.
Bloomberg, who made a public apology for the policy a week before he entered the race, said he was “worried about, embarrassed about” how the stop-and-frisk policy turned out.
On the debate stage, he returned to his position that he’s the only candidate who can beat President Donald Trump in November and do an effective job as president. He was direct in his criticism of Sanders, whom he views as his main competitor for the Democratic nomination.
“I don’t think there’s any chance of the senator beating President Trump,” Bloomberg said. “I know how to take on an arrogant con man like Donald Trump.”
Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
Related Stories