Billionaire and owner of Bloomberg TV, Mike Bloomberg, has made public his intention to offload his $60 billion media company in the event of securing the Democratic party nomination for the presidential elections and defeating President Trump.
According to a campaign statement released on Wednesday, just hours before his first democratic party presidential debate, Bloomberg would divest the media empire he has painstakingly built over the years if he emerges victorious. This move seems prudent, especially in light of Democrats’ allegations against Trump of exploiting and benefiting from his real estate empire during his presidency.
The campaign disclosed that Mr. Bloomberg would initially place the company in a blind trust, with the eventual plan of selling it off. Analysts have projected the potential sale to fetch as much as $60 billion, if not more. The proceeds from this sale would be directed towards Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charitable arm that supports a wide range of causes, from addressing climate change to funding public health initiatives and grants for American cities, as per Tim O’Brien, advisor to the Bloomberg 2020 campaign.
“We want our stance on financial conflicts of interest to be polar opposite to Donald Trump’s,” O’Brien remarked in an interview with The Associated Press. “We view it as one of the biggest blemishes on the presidency, and Trump has consistently refused to disentangle himself from his own financial interests. We aim to be transparent, ethical, and unambiguous with voters about where Mike stands on these matters.”
Trump responded to this announcement on Wednesday, tweeting, ‘Is corrupt Bloomberg News going to say what a pathetic debater Mini Mike is, that he doesn’t respect our great farmers, or that he has violated campaign finance laws at the highest and most sinister level with “payoffs” all over the place?’ Trump inquired.
Is corrupt Bloomberg News going to say what a pathetic debater Mini Mike is, that he doesn’t respect our great farmers, or that he has violated campaign finance laws at the highest and most sinister level with “payoffs” all over the place?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2020