Michael Bloomberg, business magnate and former New York City mayor, is reportedly considering a run for president on an independent ticket.
"Bloomberg has instructed advisers to draw up plans for a potential independent campaign in this year’s presidential race,"
The New York Times reported on Saturday.
"His advisers and associates said he was galled by Donald J. Trump’s dominance of the Republican field, and troubled by Hillary Clinton’s stumbles and the rise of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont on the Democratic side."
Gathered below are 10 advantages Bloomberg could bring to the presidential race.
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1. He's got more money than Trump — Bloomberg, who is worth $39 billion, is the eighth richest person in America, trailing only Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Larry Ellison, Jeff Bezos, Charles and David Koch, and Mark Zuckerberg,
according to Forbes. The Times reported that Bloomberg "has indicated to friends and allies that he would be willing to spend at least $1 billion of his fortune" on a presidential bid, meaning he could more easily self-fund his campaign than Donald Trump, who is worth $4 billion.
2. He embodies the American dream — Bloomberg is a classic American entrepreneur who worked hard to get where he is today. He is the grandson of a Russian immigrant, born in Boston to a real estate agent and his wife, and attended public schools growing up. Bloomberg's
philanthropic website states that "Mike Bloomberg’s first charitable donation was a $5 check to his college’s alumni association, given immediately after graduation. While it was all he could afford, he felt it was important to give back." Nowadays, he donates tens of millions of dollars at a time.
3. He helped rebuild New York after 9/11 — Rudy Giuliani was mayor of New York when the Twin Towers were felled by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001, leading to a heroic effort to unite the city in the face of tragedy. Bloomberg was sworn just months later on Jan. 1, 2002, and presided over the planning and construction of the new World Trade Center, including the Freedom Tower.
4. He is the most tech savvy — "None of the other candidates really understand technology and its power for global impact,"
TechCrunch declared Sunday, reminding readers that Bloomberg became a billionaire by inventing the Bloomberg Terminal computer system. "Some of the candidates don’t know how to use a Blackberry and others think that a giant wall will protect our economy. The reality is that we are globalized through the means of communication. A smart phone eliminates all borders and social media carries the good word, amplifying the soap boxes of one onto the global theater. We want a President, who not just understands tech, he lives, he breathes it, he is it and will use it for the benefit of our nation."
5. He has his own media empire — While Donald Trump may have had his own reality TV show, "The Apprentice," Michael Bloomberg has his own news empire — composed of the Bloomberg News wire service, Blooomberg Businessweek magazine, Bloomberg TV, and WBBR radio station.
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6. He is an Eagle Scout — Many politicians have touted their merit badges as a way to signal to voters that they were conscientious citizens from a young age.
7. As a businessman and former mayor, he has outsider cred — The 2016 presidential campaign cycle has seen so-called "outsider" candidate — Trump, Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina — drawing record support. While the majority of the insider, establishment candidates are senators and governors, Bloomberg can make the case that he is a businessman first, and a politician second — as well as play up the local-politics angle, making the case that he was an on-the-ground mayor.
8. He's a true independent — Bloomberg was a Democrat before he entered politics in 2001. He subsequently registered as a Republican, and won the New York mayorship. He was re-elected once as a Republican, and once as an independent. He remains an independent to this day, and could draw huge support as an alternative to the binary Democrat-Republican system, just like Ross Perot in 1992, or Theodore Roosevelt in 1912.
9. His political stance is appealing to voters on both sides — With strong liberal views on so-called "social issues" like same-sex marriage, abortion, and strict gun control, coupled with his self-described fiscal conservatism and tough-on-crime stance, Bloomberg could draw a huge number of moderates, small business owners, Millennials, and libertarians to a potential run.
10. He has many options for choosing a vice president — Because of his ability to self-fund his campaign and because of his limited affiliation with any political party, Bloomberg would arguably have the most options of any candidate when it comes to choosing a vice president to run with him. He could choose a dynamic business person, a mayor, a governor, or perhaps even a senator. Imagine him running with Rep. Joaquín Castro or eBay executive Meg Whitman, for example.
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