Bloomberg Criticized in US Democratic Presidential Debate

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Michael Bloomberg, former New York City mayor, faced difficulties in his first participation in the U.S. Democratic presidential primary debate.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 19th (local time), at the Democratic presidential TV debate held in Nevada, Bloomberg became the main target of concentrated attacks. After the debate, major U.S. media outlets such as CNN and The Washington Post (WP) rushed to report that Bloomberg was the 'loser' of this debate.

CNN stated, "The first hour of the debate was a disaster for Bloomberg," and added, "It was like a professional wrestling match where multiple players gang up on one player."

In fact, during the debate, Bloomberg's entry into politics, sexual harassment remarks, and wealth issues were mainly discussed. Particularly, Senator Elizabeth Warren launched a fierce attack against Bloomberg during the debate. She said, "We are now competing against a billionaire who called women fat broads and horse-face lesbians," clarifying, "The person I’m talking about is not President Donald Trump but former Mayor Bloomberg."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

She continued, "If we try to replace one arrogant billionaire (President Trump) with another arrogant billionaire (Bloomberg), the Democratic Party will face enormous risks."

WP commented, "Bloomberg did not have much experience in debates," and noted, "Unlike previous one-on-one debates, multiple candidates attacked Bloomberg from the start this time." The newspaper reported, "Bloomberg sometimes appeared to wait for the attacks to end rather than defending himself, but his competitors relentlessly continued their assaults."

Additionally, foreign media reported that Bloomberg showed signs of irritability and impatience.

Bloomberg, leveraging his vast wealth to continue advertising, ranked third in support among Democratic presidential candidates. According to polls by NBC and The Wall Street Journal, Senator Bernie Sanders led with 27%, former Vice President Joe Biden had 15%, and Senator Warren and Bloomberg each received 14% support.