Sanders: I’d win if Bloomberg runs as 3rd party

Marco Rubio, meanwhile, said he hasn’t even thought about the possible impact of a Bloomberg presidential bid.

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary R. Clinton said she will save former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg the trouble of deciding whether to enter into the Y 2016 race by winning her party’s nomination. If Trump wins the Republican nomination and draws Bloomberg into the race, Sanders could get a boost from the so-called plebs and the proletariat displeased about two billionaire plutocrats in the fray.

The source said the media mogul has set a March deadline for his decision, giving himself time to get on all the state ballots.

Weiner, whose wife Huma Abedin is a long-time aide for Hillary Clinton, suggested that a lot of people may be girding themselves for the possibility of a Trump vs. Sanders general election.

Christie said Bloomberg was a good mayor but refused to evaluate whether he would make a good president, saying until someone officially is in a race and offering policy ideas, there’s no basis on which to make an evaluation. And he plans to commission a poll after the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries in early February before deciding on a run, as reported first by The New York Times.

A report from The New York Times on Saturday laid out the conditions for a Bloomberg run which would be predicated on a victory from Trump or Ted Cruz on the Republican side and a win from Sanders for the Democrats. “I love the competition, and I understand Michael”.

Clinton, also on NBC, said her understanding is that Bloomberg won’t get in she wins the Democratic nomination. So I don’t think we will be seeing Bloomberg in the race.

“Michael’s been a friend of mine over the years, perhaps we’re not friends anymore”, Mr. Trump said. I would love to have Michael Bloomberg run.

“That is not what, to my view, American democracy is supposed to be about – a contest between billionaires”, the Vermont Independent senator said.

“I don’t think the people of the country want to give more money to billionaires at this point …”

Bloomberg was a three-term mayor of NY, twice as a Republican and finally as an independent, and is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, parent of Bloomberg News.

Romney tweeted that four years ago today, “I released my taxes; became issue”.

Success by Clinton at the polls won’t necessarily stop Bloomberg from running, a source close to the former mayor said Sunday.

But liberals have found fault with his cozy ties to Wall Street and his unquestioned support for the New York Police Department, which drove down crime during his tenure but engaged in tactics that a federal judge later ruled discriminated against minorities.