MICHAEL BLOOMBERG: I have no regrets about staying out of the presidential race
Screenshot/CNBC
Michael Bloomberg told CNBC's "Fast Money" on Tuesday that though Donald Trump "surprised" everyone by becoming the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, he has no regrets about deciding against jumping into the presidential race.
"Well nobody expected it to be this way," said Bloomberg, the billionaire media mogul and former mayor of New York. "Nobody, there's nobody that thought he had a possible shot at this. And yet he has fooled everybody. Fooled isn't quite the right word - he just surprised everybody."
Bloomberg said that even if he felt a strong urge to enter the race, he knew that the electoral system wouldn't have given him a shot at winning.
Bloomberg grabbed headlines earlier this year as he considered a third-party run at the White House. He believed there could be an opening if both Trump and both Bernie Sanders, a Vermont senator, secured their respective parties' nominations. Bloomberg eventually decided against a run.
On Tuesday, Bloomberg said the biggest effect he could've had in a three-way race would have been to throw the election to the House of Representatives, which likely would have selected the candidate of the party with control of the legislative body.
"So you just can't win as a third candidate," he said. "[We] took a look at it, and we did a lot of polling. ... [We were] not going to get a majority."
Bloomberg didn't outright endorse Clinton or Trump for the presidency. Asked to give any advice to Trump, the fellow Manhattan billionaire who has all but sealed the GOP nomination, Bloomberg said he's "certainly nobody to give him advice."
"Trump marches to his own drummer, it would seem," he said. "And so far, that drummer's been playing the right tune to get him this far. Can it take him to the finish like? Only history will tell."
Watch Bloomberg's comments below:
- I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
- Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
- Saudi Arabia wants China to help fund its struggling $500 billion Neom megaproject. Investors may not be too excited.
- Catan adds climate change to the latest edition of the world-famous board game
- Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
- Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
- JNK India IPO allotment – How to check allotment, GMP, listing date and more
- Indian Army unveils selfie point at Hombotingla Pass ahead of 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market