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Democrat Megadonor Michael Bloomberg Repeatedly Defends China’s Communist Party, Gets Slammed By Critics

   DailyWire.com
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks to the media outside the West Wing of the White House after meeting with Vice President Joe Biden, February 27, 2013 in Washington, DC. Vice President Biden and Mayor Bloomberg discussed the Obama administration's proposals to reduce gun violence.
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Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire and Democrat megadonor, was called out during an interview that aired on Friday on PBS’s “Firing Line” for repeatedly praising the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Bloomberg’s remarks came in response to a question from Margaret Hoover about climate change and how the United States can get India and China to be more responsible in reducing carbon emissions.

“China is doing a lot, India is doing some, but I think China is doing a lot,” Bloomberg responded. “Yes, they’re still building a lot of coal-fired power plants … but they’re now moving plants away from the cities.”

“The Communist Party wants to stay in power in China and they listen to the public,” Bloomberg continued. “When the public says ‘I can’t breathe the air,’ Xi Jinping is not a dictator, he has to satisfy his constituents or he’s not going to survive.”

“He’s not a dictator?” Hoover fired back.

“No,” Bloomberg responded. “He has a constituency to answer to.”

“He doesn’t have a vote. He doesn’t have a democracy. He’s not held accountable by voters,” Hoover pressed. “Is the check on him just a revolution?”

“You’re not going to have a revolution. No government survives without the will of the majority of its people,” Bloomberg responded as he became defensive. “Okay?”

A few moments later, Bloomberg said that if the United States can lead on climate change, then the Chinese people “can go to the government and say, ‘if America can do it, why can’t we do it?'”

Hoover, however, did not let Bloomberg off the hook about his comments on the CPC being responsive to the people of China, saying, “the idea that the Chinese government is responsive to sort of a Democratic expression of fresh air, clean air … ”

“Oh, come on, of course they are,” Bloomberg interrupted.

“I’m looking at the people in Hong Kong who are protesting … ” Hoover continued.

“Go back and read the press, the days when you have big pollution in Beijing and they’re doing something about it,” Bloomberg responded as he ignored the Chinese government’s crackdown on freedom. “That’s ridiculous. They are very responsive to it.”

WATCH:

The Hill’s Saagar Enjeti responded to Bloomberg’s comments by tweeting: “This clip becomes less bizarre when you remember that Bloomberg just added hundreds of billions in Chinese corporate bonds to its indexes.”

Vice News’ Michael Moynihan tweeted: “The headline here is that Bloomberg says China *isn’t* a dictatorship. Good push back from @MargaretHoover; incoherent, condescending responses from @MikeBloomberg.”

President of Foundation for Defense of Democracies Clifford D. May tweeted: “Bloomberg is drawing a moral equivalence between one of the most repressive regimes on the planet and democratic societies. On the basis that in China there are ‘stakeholders.’ So how are the Tibetan, Uighur, and Christian stakeholders doing? Asking for a friend.”

Author Michael Brendan Dougherty tweeted: “This is going to be one of the biggest problems going forward. The richest most powerful Western capitalists schilling for the Chicoms. Also one of the biggest opportunities.”

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