Bernie Sanders aide says campaign would refuse money from Michael Bloomberg if nominated: report

Michael Bloomberg can expect to cut costs if fellow White House hopeful Sen. Bernard Sanders becomes the Democratic presidential nominee, aides for each candidate indicated Tuesday.

Mr. Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, has said he would spend heavily to elect a Democrat president if he ultimately fails to receive the party’s nomination.

A top aide to Mr. Sanders, the current front-runner among Democratic candidates, reportedly said the senator would refuse to take any money from Mr. Bloomberg if nominated, however.

Jeff Weaver, a senior adviser to Mr. Sanders who managed his 2016 presidential campaign, discussed taking money from Mr. Bloomberg following the latest Democratic primary debate.

“It’s a hard no,” Mr. Weaver told NBC News about the Sanders campaign potentially receiving financial support from Mr. Bloomberg in the general election against President Trump.

“Bernie has said he’s going to fund his presidential campaign with small-dollar contributions, and I think we can do that. I think we can raise over a billion dollars in small-dollar contributions,” Mr. Weaver added, the outlet reported.

Howard Wolfson, a senior adviser to Mr. Bloomberg, accordingly told NBC News that the billionaire would avoid bankrolling the Sanders campaign if the senator becomes the nominee.

“Bernie said he didn’t want [Bloomberg’s] money, so we’re not going to. I don’t think it would be prudent to spend on behalf of somebody who didn’t want it,” said Mr. Wolfson, NBC News reported.

“I think everyone else has said they want the help, including Elizabeth Warren,” Mr. Wolfson added. “If Elizabeth Warren is the nominee, we will do everything we can to help her. Sanders is the one candidate who said he didn’t want the help.”

Mr. Sanders, a Vermont independent and self-described democratic socialist, has run on fixing economic inequality and has been highly critical of billionaires like Mr. Bloomberg.

Mr. Bloomberg has outspent every other top Democratic presidential candidate since launching his self-funded White House campaign in November, meanwhile.