Michael Bloomberg’s campaign manager said Monday that the billionaire media mogul finally decided to enter the 2020 presidential race because he thinks President Trump is well on his way to winning reelection and he wants to do everything he can to stop it.
“Mike is getting in this race because he thinks that Donald Trump is an existential crisis and he thinks [Mr. Trump is] on a path to victory,” Kevin Sheekey told CNN’s Kate Bolduan. “He’s here to alter that dynamic. We’re going to run a campaign against the president. We’re going to run a campaign to make Mike the Democratic nominee.”
Ms. Bolduan mentioned criticism against Mr. Bloomberg for his decision to skip early nominating contests like Iowa and New Hampshire, arguing that a candidate needs “momentum” in a primary.
Mr. Sheekey responded that Mr. Bloomberg’s is a “national political campaign” and that his focus will be more on targeting voters in swing states.
“What we’re focusing on is defeating Trump,” he said. “And if you look at the polls, and people can’t focus on this, the general election is in six states, that’s it. It’s in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida and Arizona. That’s the whole general election.
“And right now, Donald Trump is winning. He is winning that election,” he added. “It’s very tough for people who don’t live in New York or California to understand that, but that is what’s happening. Mike was doing everything he could from the sidelines and he finally decided it wasn’t enough to sit on the sidelines and he needed to do what he could to alter that dynamic and so that’s what we’re going to try to do.”
Mr. Bloomberg officially entered the presidential race Sunday.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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