1 week from Iowa: GOP flaunt endorsements, dismiss Bloomberg

Clinton, also on NBC, said her understanding is that Bloomberg won’t get in she wins the Democratic nomination.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is taking steps to launch an independent bid for the White House, CBS News has confirmed. A longtime Democrat, he joined the Republican party to run for mayor in 2001.

The prospect of former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg running for president as an independent dropped new uncertainty into an already highly unusual 2016 primary season. “If that takes place, I am confident that we will win it”, Sanders said.

“Perhaps we’re not friends anymore”, Trump said on the show.

Trump, for his part, told “Meet the Press” he “would love to see Michael Bloomberg run”. Bloomberg, who has long maintained what has seemed to be a mutually respectful working relationship with Clinton, is apparently unimpressed with her campaign thus far, though sources tell the AP that it’s unlikely he would challenge her in the general election.

One Republican contender, OH governor John Kasich, has called Mr Bloomberg a “good mayor” and says he might help raise the level of the presidential debate if he ran.

Bloomberg gets in, you’re going to have two multi-billionaires running for president of the United States against me.

Still, it is bad to contemplate this possibility: the Republicans nominate Trump, the Democrats pick Sanders, and Bloomberg jumps in as an independent.

If he enters the race now, he will be facing off against Donald Trump, who is firmly in the lead for the GOP nomination. Speculation about the reasoning for the bid considers the rising chances of populist candidates on both aisles – Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.

Bloomberg has retained advisers and plans to conduct a poll after the February 9 New Hampshire primary to assess the state of the race and judge whether there is an opening for him to mount an independent campaign, according to three people familiar with his thinking. In recent years Bloomberg has spent millions on national campaigns to tighten USA gun laws and reform immigration.

Bloomberg has been one of the loudest political voices for more gun control measures, helping form Mayors Against Illegal Guns in 2006, which combined with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America in 2014 to create Everytown for Gun Safety.

“Don’t agree with his stance on the Second Amendment and some other issues”, Rubio said on Fox News Sunday.

De Blasio also said he respects his predecessor, Michael Bloomberg, but Americans aren’t interested in a race between billionaires Bloomberg and Trump.

The nominee needs a majority of votes from the electoral college in order to secure the nomination, otherwise the election is decided by the House of Representatives, which is overwhelmingly controlled by Republicans.