Among the many ghosts of Michael Bloomberg's past, which present a portrait of the billionaire former mayor, republican, of New York certainly not in line with the most progressive dem positions, one that could create greater embarrassments for the aspiring democratic candidate in the White House - especially this evening during the first debate in which he will participate with the other candidates in Las Vegas - is that of his past with Donald Trump.
In recent days, the photos showing him smiling on the golf course with the man who now wants to beat the elections have become viral in the media. The photos, first published by Bernie Sanders in response to Bloomberg's attack that said Trump was "Bernie's new bro", are not the only evidence of the friendship between the two New York tycoons.
"I am a friend of Donald Trump, he is a New Yorker icon," he said in an interview with Fox News in 2011. But the most insidious video is the one recorded a month after Trump's victory in 2016, when, during a speech at the business school in Oxford, Bloomberg spoke ironically, and in a certain affectionate sense, about Trump expressing the "hope" that he could be "a good president."
Bloomberg told students he met Trump who told him that he had heard the speech he made at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia: "But you really love me, don't you?" Trump told him again. "And I replied, yes Donald I love you, I just don't agree with anything you say. And we had a good laugh," was Bloomberg's reply.
"If you go to dinner with Donald Trump, you probably go away saying that what he said are all nonsense, but you had fun, he is a nice person - continued Bloomberg's speech - Will he be a good president? I hope so because we desperately need of leadership in the country and in the world ".
Asked by a Politician, the Bloomberg campaign sought to downsize the meaning of these words: "When Trump arrived at the White House, Bloomberg like most Americans, he hoped that he could prove himself up to the situation, instead Trump betrayed the hopes of the Americans. And that's why Mike is a candidate to replace him, "replied the former mayor Stu Loeser's adviser and spokesman, stressing that" more and more Americans say that Mike is the only one able to chase Trump from the White House".
Obviously of opposite sign, the comment of the Sanders campaign. "Billionaires often have a lot more in common than they do with the working class and people know this," said Mike Casca, spokesman for the Senator from Vermont, indicating what Sanders' line of attack will be. , but perhaps of all the candidates against Bloomberg - who ranks as the ninth richest man in the world, the sixth in America in the 2019 Forbes ranking - tonight in the Nevada debate.