Bloomberg on his Democratic rivals: 'Trump will eat 'em up'
(SOUND BITE) (ENGLISH) MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, SAYING:
"And then I watched all the candidates and I thought, Donald Trump would eat 'em up.'
Presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg, in an interview that aired Friday, said Donald Trump would easily defeat any of his Democratic White House rivals in next year’s election.
Appearing on "CBS This Morning", the billionaire media mogul and former New York City mayor explained why he thinks he can defeat Trump in 2020.
(SOUND BITE) (ENGLISH) MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, SAYING:
"I said back in 2016, 'He is the wrong person for the job. He doesn't have the temperament or the ethics or the intellect to do the job." And I said, 'We just can't have another four years of this.' And then I watched all the candidates. And I just thought to myself, 'Donald Trump would eat 'em up.'"
(SOUND BITE) (ENGLISH) 'CBS THIS MORNING' HOST GAYLE KING, SAYING:
"You think all the candidates who are running today, he would eat them up?"
(SOUND BITE) (ENGLISH) MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, SAYING:
"Let me rephrase it. I think that I would do the best job of competing with him and beating him."
Bloomberg, a former Republican and independent, fears that liberal candidates such as Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders will alienate voters in battleground states.
The two have been among his staunchest critics, accusing the billionaire, who is funding his own campaign, of trying to buy his way into the nomination.
In response, Bloomberg told CBS, “I’m doing exactly the same thing they’re doing, except that I am using my own money. They’re using somebody else’s money and those other people expect something from them..."
Bloomberg adding, "And I don’t want to be bought.”
But he is aligned with most Democrats when it comes to the issue of whether Trump has abused his power.
(SOUND BITE) (ENGLISH) 'CBS THIS MORNING' HOST GAYLE KING, SAYING:
"Do you think President Trump should be impeached?"
(SOUND BITE) (ENGLISH) MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, SAYING:
"I think it's a very serious thing, and I was before opposed to it but after looking at all the evidence now I think yes. Sad, but yes."
(SOUND BITE) (ENGLISH) 'CBS THIS MORNING' HOST GAYLE KING, SAYING:
"What is the biggest thing that troubles you about him?"
(SOUND BITE) (ENGLISH) MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, SAYING:
"He does not seem to understand that he is an elected official whose job it is to work for the public rather than for himself."
Trump's campaign earlier this week said it will no longer issue press credentials to reporters who work for Bloomberg News, the agency owned by Bloomberg.
The move appeared to be in response to the news agency's announcement that it will not investigate Bloomberg - or his Democratic rivals - during the campaign, but that it would continue to investigate Trump as a sitting president.
