Last month Michael Bloomberg made it official: he’s running for President of the United States. Mr. Bloomberg is in full embrace of climate change fanaticism – without coming across like a fanatic, which makes him effective and dangerous. This week, he dutifully joined the climate conference at Madrid.
Mr. Bloomberg is a highly successful businessman having built the media empire that bears his name, Bloomberg News. He is the eighth wealthiest person on the planet, according to Forbes, with an estimated $53 billion fortune, and he won’t be frugal about spending a chunk. Already he dropped more than $30 million in television ads, which nearly exceeds the combined amount spent by his competitors for the Democratic nomination in the past year.
Bloomberg, now 77 years old, was a successful three-term mayor of New York City, one of the most difficult political jobs in the country. He presided over the rebuilding of lower Manhattan after the 9-11 terrorist attack, supported education reform by expanding charter schools over the visceral objections of the powerful teachers union (a crucially important Democratic constituency), and continued the enormously successful anti-crime policies implemented by his predecessor, Mayor Rudy Giuliani (though he cravenly apologized for the latter policy).
Since he left the mayor’s office in 2014, Bloomberg has steered his fortune to fighting man-made “climate change” and eviscerating the Second Amendment by supporting gun control, among other causes.
Through his Bloomberg Philanthropies, the businessman and former mayor has committed to reducing carbon emissions, and is determined to close down “every single coal-fired plant over the next 11 years.” He also is devoting his fortune to moving away from oil and gas “toward a 100 percent clean energy economy.”
Interestingly, Bloomberg has not embraced the Green New Deal that is the staple of his Democratic Party by rightly claiming it could not pass Congress. But his actions are consistent with its fantasy of soon replacing vital energy sources with renewable energy. If Bloomberg becomes president, his control over the federal bureaucracy and the regulatory levers of the economy will dwarf his multi-million dollar philanthropic effort. The result would be to impose his own Green New Deal on America.
Michael Bloomberg’s record as New York City mayor and enormous wealth make him a formidable candidate for president. But, they also are his biggest liabilities in first securing the Democratic nomination.
Other Democratic candidates are accusing Mr. Bloomberg of trying to “buy the nomination.” Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, who regularly rail against billionaires, are especially perturbed.
Bloomberg’s wealth, which he uses to advance green causes, also affords him a luxurious lifestyle that portrays him as one of the biggest environmental hypocrites alive.
Bloomberg owns several homes around the globe, including his large and expanding townhouse on the upper east side of Manhattan. He’s steadily been purchasing apartments in the building next door to create a megamansion. His other mansions include a $25 million abode in London; a 22,000 square foot, $20 million estate on 35 acres in Southampton, Long Island; and his hangout located at Stokes Bay on the island of Bermuda.
This island paradise home he purchased 20 years ago, then demolished it to build a 6,000 square foot edifice for an easy $10 million. During his 12 years as New York City mayor, he was frequently flown there on his private jet for weekends.
Bloomberg is determined to reduce America’s carbon “footprint,” yet he continues to exponentially expand his own.
Another hypocrisy for Michael Bloomberg’s presidential candidacy is his naiveté toward Communist China. As Bloomberg preens about climate change in the U.S., he has a blind-eye to China’s appalling environmental record, human rights abuses, and aggressive foreign policy.
Shockingly, Bloomberg recently claimed that the leader of China was just another benign head of state, trying his best: “Xi Jinping is not a dictator. He has to satisfy his constituents or he’s not going to survive.” Not coincidently perhaps, Bloomberg has substantial business investments in China. As president, he may confirm that famous prediction by Vladimir Lenin, the founder of Soviet Russia: “The capitalist will sell us the rope with which we will hang them.”
How the 2020 presidential campaign unfolds is anyone’s guess. Michael Bloomberg’s entry to the fray brings formidable skills and a super-sized checkbook. But his environmental extremism, hypocritical lifestyle and credulity toward China may consign his presidential ambitions to the dustbin.