Trump: "Bloomberg Spreading Bribes"... Another Heated Exchange on Twitter

Bloomberg Emerges as a Leading Democratic Presidential Candidate

Facing Intense Attacks Both Inside and Outside

Bloomberg Responds on Twitter, "See You in November (When the Election Takes Place)"

▲President Donald Trump wrote this post targeting former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Twitter on the 18th (local time).

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jaehee] U.S. President Donald Trump launched another fierce attack ahead of former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's debut in the first Democratic presidential primary TV debate. Trump raised suspicions that Bloomberg might be distributing large-scale illegal campaign funds based on his financial power.

On the 18th (local time), President Trump tweeted, "'Mini' Mike's actions are no different from distributing large-scale illegal campaign funds," adding, "He is spreading money everywhere, and only those who receive his money willingly participate in his campaign."

He further added, "Isn't this called 'bribery'?"

President Trump refers to Bloomberg as 'Mini' Mike to mock his short stature.

In a series of tweets, Trump wrote, "'Mini' is illegally buying the Democratic nomination," and "They (the Democrats) are taking it away from Bernie again. Mini Mike, the nominee of a major party is not for sale."

As Bloomberg rises as a leading Democratic presidential candidate by boosting his approval ratings with massive financial resources, analyses suggest that not only his intra-party rivals but also Republican presidential candidate President Trump have started to check him.

Earlier, on the 13th, President Trump also mocked Bloomberg by comparing him to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush on Twitter and stirred discord between Bloomberg and Senator Bernie Sanders, aiming to curb Bloomberg's rise as a presidential contender.

Notably, President Trump's tweets came just before Bloomberg's debut in the TV debate, drawing attention.

▲Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's tweet directed at President Trump

Bloomberg responded on Twitter, "Why do you want to fight with Bernie so much?"

In Washington political circles, President Trump is said to consider Senator Sanders the easiest opponent because he can easily label him a 'socialist.' Bloomberg's remark is interpreted as targeting this calculation by President Trump.

In response, President Trump immediately tweeted, "Mini Mike, no, I actually want to face you."

Bloomberg replied, "Not a single word you say can be trusted," and "See you in November (when the election takes place)."

Meanwhile, Bloomberg News reported that President Trump's campaign is discussing plans to raise an additional $1 billion (about 1.2 trillion KRW) to counter Bloomberg's enormous campaign funds.

So far, Bloomberg is known to have spent $188 million (about 222.3 billion KRW) on campaign funds through the fourth quarter of last year.

On the other hand, according to a nationwide poll jointly conducted by NPR Radio, PBS NewsHour, and Marist Poll released on the same day, among Democratic presidential primary candidates, Senator Sanders ranked first with 31% support, followed by Bloomberg in second place with 19%. This marks a 15 percentage point increase compared to December of last year.