After endorsing former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in an op-ed for USA Today last October, Judge Judy Sheindlin appeared on ABC’s “The View” Monday to further explain her position, arguing that Bloomberg could be the “greatest president” to bring a divided America together in this time of intense political infighting.
“I’ve never seen Americans so angry with each other as a family and it became sort of frightening when you couldn’t go to a social gathering and have a difference of opinion… if you view America as the greatest family on the planet, I felt as if it was time for America, which is the greatest country in the world, to have the greatest president,” Judge Judy said, as reported by Fox News. “When I looked at the field of 2020 candidates… there was no other voice, for me, other than the voice of someone who has experience in governance second only to the president of the United States.”
Judge Judy pointed to his role as mayor of New York City as evidence of Bloomberg’s ability to govern, arguing that the city’s diversity demonstrates that he can bring people together. Her argument fails to address Bloomberg’s many missteps, including the controversial “stop and frisk” law that enraged progressives at the time.
“There was a good feeling [under Bloomberg], it was a feeling that things were run effectively and efficiently during his 12 years as mayor,” Judge Judy said. “I felt that way when he was the mayor and he’s a brilliant, self-made guy.”
“If he’s successful and happened to have made money being successful, that folks, is the American dream,” she added.
Judge Judy on endorsing former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg for president: “There was no other voice for me other than a voice of someone who has experience in governance." https://t.co/f8u2wbJuik pic.twitter.com/u2oiwe20Ya
— The View (@TheView) January 6, 2020
Judge Judy received no pushback from “The View” hosts for her position on Bloomberg. Following her assertion, the hosts played a 30-second video from the Bloomberg’s official campaign in which she praised the former mayor for being a man that gets things done.
“I like to say you can judge someone’s character by what they’ve done,” she said in the video. “Mike Bloomberg has done amazing things and will be a truly great president. No one comes close to Mike Bloomberg’s executive achievement, government experience and impactful philanthropy. His steady leadership will unite our country and bring us through these very challenging times.”
Judge Judy’s praise of Bloomberg on both “The View” and in the video nearly echoed verbatim what she wrote in the USA Today op-ed.
“The only way we can begin to come together again, I said, is if Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, becomes our next president,” she wrote this past October. “I realize I am taking a personal and a career risk in making such a statement. I have carefully stayed away from politics for 50 years, except to vote. But times have changed in our country, and I believe the moment has come for me to step out from behind the curtain.”
“An independent, tough-minded businessman, he represents our best chance to bring America together again and begin the long national process of healing,” she said. “Unlike those on the far the right and the far left who use their bully pulpit to divide us, he’s a pragmatist, a man who has shown time and again that he knows how to get things done and cares more about results than ideology. That’s a skill in short supply these days, on both sides.”
While Judge Judy is clearly enthused about the prospect of a President Bloomberg, the Democratic base has paid him little attention. Thus far he has failed to gain any traction among the Democratic field, usually coming in a distant 5th place.