Former New York City mayor and 2020 presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg has not been endorsed by former President Barack Obama, but you wouldn’t know that judging from the way the candidate has been acting recently.
As my former employer The Washington Examiner reported, Bloomberg spent $1.2 million in the week ahead of the New Hampshire primary on a 30-second ad that included a section of one of Obama’s speeches where he praised Bloomberg. While Obama’s speech is played, images of Bloomberg and the former president together are shown on the screen.
“President Barack Obama is someone I was proud to call Commander-in-Chief, and someone I was honored to work with to get big things done,” Bloomberg tweeted along with the ad.
President Barack Obama is someone I was proud to call Commander-in-Chief, and someone I was honored to work with to get big things done.
I miss that feeling. pic.twitter.com/CNUWTzXtcU
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) February 5, 2020
“He’s been a leader throughout the country for the past 12 years, Mr. Michael Bloomberg is here,” Obama said in 2013 in a clip featured in the Bloomberg ad.
The ad then highlights examples of Obama and Bloomberg working together, including on gun control laws, “to improve education,” and helping “teens find good jobs.”
“At a time when Washington is divided in old ideological battles, he shows us what can be achieved when we bring people together to seek pragmatic solutions,” Obama said at another point in his presidency, which ignored the fact that Bloomberg didn’t have to work with anyone other than Democrats to get what he wanted.
“Part of the roughly $400 million Bloomberg has so far doled out for messaging on TV, radio, and online since announcing his candidacy last November, the spot leaves viewers with the impression Obama endorsed the media mogul despite staying neutral in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary,” the Examiner reported.
Obama’s 2008 campaign manager David Plouffe said someone at his gym asked him why Obama endorsed Bloomberg over the other Democrats, suggesting the ad has certainly given some the wrong impression.
“The power of saturation advertising. Someone at my gym in California asked me why Barack Obama chose Bloomberg over the rest of the field,” Plouffe tweeted.
The power of saturation advertising. Someone at my gym in California asked me why Barack Obama chose Bloomberg over the rest of the field.
— David Plouffe (@davidplouffe) February 14, 2020
Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, said he has also encountered Democrats who think Obama endorsed Bloomberg based on the ad – using the same word, “saturation,” as Plouffe.
“I keep encountering Dem voters who like Mike Bloomberg because he’s been endorsed by Barack Obama. Fake news and the power of saturation TV ads,” Sabato tweeted.
I keep encountering Dem voters who like Mike Bloomberg because he’s been endorsed by Barack Obama. Fake news and the power of saturation TV ads.
— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) February 18, 2020
The Examiner reported that the ad has caused a bit of a turf war between Bloomberg and former Vice President Joe Biden, who is also running for the Democratic nominee.
“Bloomberg’s efforts to tie himself to Obama has irked one rival in particular: Obama’s once-No. 2, former Vice President Joe Biden,” The Examiner reported. “The duo clashed ahead of Wednesday night’s debate in Las Vegas, held before Saturday’s Nevada caucuses, with Biden warning Bloomberg to come prepared to discuss how he didn’t wholeheartedly support the Obama administration’s reelection bid. Bloomberg’s team hit back with a video showcasing an old address Biden delivered in which he heaped praise on the former mayor.”
Bloomberg has bought his way to third place in the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.