Bloomberg lashes Trump in blistering convention speech: God help us, he says
Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg delivered what the Wall Street Journal called “a stinging rebuke” to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia last night.
Bloomberg: Attacked Trump
The billionaire businessman called Trump a “dangerous demagogue,” adding,“Trump says he wants to run the nation like he runs his business. God help us.”
The ex-mayor is unaffiliated with any political party. “I’m a New Yorker. I know a con when I see one,”he told the packed convention hall.
Bloomberg said there was “no doubt in my mind” that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was the “right choice” in the Nov. 8 election.
He told fellow independents that their votes mattered and he urged the nation to “elect a sane, competent person with international experience, a unifier.”
“Hillary Clinton understands this isn’t reality television,” he said. “This is reality.”
A spokeswoman for Mr. Trump didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
But aides to 74-year-old Bloomberg said his remarks weren’t focused on the crowd in the convention hall. Instead, his remarks were designed to influence moderates at home and send a message that voters should unite against Trump, a fellow New York billionaire.
During his speech, Bloomberg said he sometimes disagreed with Mrs. Clinton But he said it was imperative that voters elect her. The next president should be a problem solver, not a bomb thrower, he said.
Months earlier Bloomberg had publicly weighed a run for president but decided he couldn’t win as a third-party candidate.
Bloomberg was a lifelong Democrat before he became a Republican in advance of his first campaign for mayor in 2001. Mr. Bloomberg left the GOP in 2007 as he flirted with running for president.
Later last night President Obama made a powerful speech praising the wide experience and determination of Hillary - who came on to the stage as he finished his remarks.