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13 Sep, 2020 14:13

'Save NYC instead': Trump shreds Bloomberg for readying 'nine-figure' sum to help Biden campaign win coin-toss Florida

'Save NYC instead': Trump shreds Bloomberg for readying 'nine-figure' sum to help Biden campaign win coin-toss Florida

Donald Trump has mocked Mike Bloomberg's past performance for the Democrats after it emerged that the billionaire is poised to throw his weight – and cash – behind Joe Biden's campaign in Florida.

"Voting starts on September 24 in Florida, so the need to inject real capital in that state quickly is an urgent need," Kevin Sheekey, Mike Bloomberg's adviser, was quoted as saying by the Washington Post.

Donald Trump responded to the news on Twitter by recalling Bloomberg's "inept" performance during the Democrat primary debates earlier this year.

Bloomberg served as mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was briefly a candidate in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries. He is believed to have spent more than $1 billion of his personal fortune in a bid to win the party nomination but suspended his campaign in March after a failed Super Tuesday nomination conquest. He ultimately endorsed Joe Biden – vice president under Barack Obama and now the Democratic presidential hopeful. Bloomberg also funds Hawkfish, a digital data tech firm employed by the Democratic National Committee.

Now, the spending effort will reportedly focus mostly on pro-Biden advertising on television and the internet, targeting English-speaking and Hispanic communities. The massive last-stage donation would place Joe Biden ahead of his nemesis Donald Trump in other states where the Democratic frontrunner's ratings are shaky, it is understood.

Mike believes that by investing in Florida it will allow campaign resources and other Democratic resources to be used in other states, in particular the state of Pennsylvania.

It is not immediately clear how much money the former New York mayor – whose net worth is estimated to be over $50 billion – will make available for Biden's campaign. Bloomberg's advisers said it would involve "nine figures," but declined to reveal the exact sum above $100 million.

The massive cash injection seems to be an all-in bid to outraise Trump in Florida, a swing state considered vital in the race. Historically, no Republican has been able to make it to the White House without winning Florida; the last president who managed to do so was Calvin Coolidge in 1924.

Trump himself signaled that he might spend his own money if required. "If I have to, I will," he told reporters ahead of a rally in another swing state, North Carolina. "Whatever it takes, we have to win," he said.

The incumbent president put more than $50 million into his 2016 primary run but declined to fund his campaign in the presidential election. Back then, he beat his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in Florida by 1.2 percent. So far, he has not spent any of his own funds on the 2020 campaign.

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The electoral race is likely to be a contentious one in the six swing states of Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona, and Wisconsin, where neither Trump nor Biden are projected to outperform their contender by a big margin.

So far, the Democratic hopeful is leading on 50.6 percent in national polling averages as of September 12. He is 7.2 points ahead of Trump, who is trailing on 43.4 points.

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