NEW YORK, NY – It’s been said before, and it’ll be said again and again- if you look hard enough, you can dig up dirt on anybody. This holds especially true if you’re running for elected office.
Case in point- Michael Bloomberg, noted billionaire businessman, author, and the former mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and currently a candidate in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, is now weathering the storm as previous offensive comments he made in regards to women and other people have resurfaced while in the midst of a serious campaign push.
In today’s #MeToo era, it seems that almost everyone has skeletons in their closet; President Donald Trump, whom Bloomberg is seeking to de-throne – something he has made abundantly clear in a series of television attack ads – himself has a very dicey past as it relates to his blatantly offensive comments regarding women, minorities, and just about anyone else you’d care to mention. But for someone whose campaign ads have attempted to paint him as the polar opposite of Trump, these new revelations about Bloomberg’s own conduct are sure to cause him issues with his efforts to win the Democratic nomination.
In years past, Bloomberg has made numerous statements that, by today’s standards – and for some, even the standards of the time during which they were issued – would ruffle more than a few feathers. Considering the fact that the majority of female voters are registered Democrats, some of Bloomberg’s verbal gaffes may indeed come back to bite him if he beats the odds and actually ends up running against Donald Trump in November.
For example, in a booklet put together by his employees in 1990, entitled The Portable Bloomberg: The Wit and Wisdom of Michael Bloomberg, we get the following gem:
“If women wanted to be appreciated for their brains, they’d go to the library instead of to Bloomingdale’s.”
– Democratic Presidential Candidate, Michael Bloomberg
The Bloomberg Terminal is a computer system that enables industry professionals to access the Bloomberg Professional service, through which users have access to real-time financial market data and can place trades. Bloomberg at one point was so enamored of his system that he was quoted as saying,
“It will do everything, including give you [a crude term for oral sex]. I guess that puts a lot of you girls out of business.”
– Democratic Presidential Candidate, Michael Bloomberg
When commenting on the British royal family, Bloomberg had this to say:
“What a bunch of misfits—a gay, an architect, that horsey faced lesbian, and a kid who gave up Koo Stark for some fat broad.”
– Democratic Presidential Candidate, Michael Bloomberg
The difference between a good salesman and a competitor, according to Bloomberg, is:
“A good salesperson asks for the order. It’s like the guy who goes into a bar, and walks up to every gorgeous girl there, and says ‘Do you want to f*ck?’ He gets turned down a lot – but he gets f*cked a lot, too! [A competitor is a] cokehead, womanizing, fag.”
– Democratic Presidential Candidate, Michael Bloomberg
According to a quote in a 1997 sexual harassment lawsuit, Bloomberg had the following piece of advice upon being informed that a co-worker was with a child: “Kill it!”
According to the same lawsuit, Bloomberg expressed the following regarding what he wants out of life:
“I would like nothing more in life than to have Sharon Stone sit on my face.”
This is just a smattering of the off-color quotes that can be attributed to Bloomberg over the years, some of which can be put right up there with Trump’s infamous “grab them by the p*ssy” comment. Ultimately, that comment – while creating an initial uproar of anger – nonetheless didn’t seem to matter much overall when it came to Republican voters faced with the big picture. However, Democrats overall tend to be more mindful of such behavior.
Stu Loeser, an adviser on Bloomberg’s campaign team, released a statement this week, noting that Bloomberg truly regrets some of the more “colorful” comments that he’s made in the past; however, critics noted that the statement fell short of being an actual apology.
“Mike has come to see that some of what he has said is disrespectful and wrong,” Loeser said. “He believes his words have not always aligned with his values and the way he has led his life.”
– Stu Loeser, adviser to the Bloomberg’s campaign
Today, with the seeming death of civility in politics across the board, it seems that anyone can get away with pretty much anything, so it remains to be seen if Bloomberg will be harmed politically by his blatantly sexist and offensive behavior in years gone by. After all, the ever-boastful Donald Trump once claimed he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody” and not “lose any voters.” At the time this was taken as simply idle bragging. Nowadays, however…he’s probably right.
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