2020 Democrats showed Bloomberg no mercy in his first presidential debate and Trump was loving it

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona, February 19, 2020.

• President Donald Trump on Wednesday night gloated that former Mayor Michael Bloomberg was taking heavy hits during the ninth 2020 Democratic presidential debate.
• The debate on Wednesday was Bloomberg's first since entering the 2020 race.
• "I hear he is getting pounded tonight," Trump said at a rally in Phoenix.
• Bloomberg was slammed by other 2020 Democrats on everything from stop-and-frisk to his past sexist comments.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Michael Bloomberg, the former Republican mayor of New York City, had a massive target on his back during the Democratic debate in Nevada on Wednesday, and President Donald Trump loved to see it.

"I hear he is getting pounded tonight," Trump said of Bloomberg at a rally in Arizona that was occurring during the debate.

The other Democratic candidates portrayed Bloomberg as really no different from Trump, bashing his record on race and women while excorating the former NYC mayor for using his wealth to propel his presidential campaign.

Bloomberg got pummeled from the get-go, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren immediately ripping into the billionaire over past sexist comments. Later, Warren went after Bloomberg over his past use of non-disclosure agreements at his media company.

"I'd like to talk about who we're running against - a billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians," Warren said. "And no, I'm not talking about Donald Trump. I'm talking about Michael Bloomberg."

"Democrats are not going to win if we have a nominee who has a history of hiding his tax returns, of harassing women, and of supporting racist policies like redlining and stop and frisk," Warren went on to say. "Democrats take a huge risk if we just substitute one arrogant billionaire for another."

Sen. Bernie Sanders, currently the 2020 Democratic frontrunner, also unloaded on Bloomberg over the course of the night, particularly on the subject of stop and frisk.

Trump appeared to be reveling in this feisty debate, and the rough night Bloomberg was having, as he addressed supporters at his Phoenix rally.

"Now they have a new member of the crew. 'Mini Mike,' 'Mini Mike.' No boxes, we call him 'no boxes.' And I hear he is getting pounded tonight. You know he's in the debate? I hear they're pounding him," Trump said.

Wednesday night was Bloomberg's first appearance in a Democratic presidential debate since hopping in the 2020 race. Bloomberg, who is worth about $64 billion, has already spent spent $338.7 million on television, radio, and digital-media advertising as of Tuesday. Meanwhile, he's moved up to second overall among 2020 Democrats in some national polls, despite taking the unorthodox move of skipping the first four contests in the primary season.

The former New York City's rapid ascent in the 2020 race has not gone over well with his Democratic opponents, who have accused him of attempting to "buy" the election with his massive fortune. Bloomberg has already spent more on campaign ads than former President Barack Obama did in his entire 2012 race.

As he's become a bigger part of the 2020 conversation, Bloomberg has also been increasingly targeted by Trump via Twitter, where the president has frequently referred to his fellow New York native and billionaire as "Mini Mike."

President Trump on #DemocraticDebate: "Now they have a new member of the crew. 'Mini Mike,' 'Mini Mike.' No boxes, we call him 'no boxes.' And I hear he is getting pounded tonight. You know he's in the debate? I hear they're pounding him." #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/swzxtYulZp

- The Hill (@thehill) February 20, 2020

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