Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is weighing the possibility of launching a third party bid for the White House. While his three terms as mayor of the Big Apple provided him with a formidable national profile, there is still some question about whether his brand has appeal nationally. If Bloomberg does launch a bid, as reports suggest he may do should the major parties coalesce around Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders as their nominees, he could prove to be the most viable Independent candidate for president in history.
Here are 10 things you should know about him:
1) He’s REALLY rich: Bloomberg may be best known for the fact that he is the one of the richest people on the planet (ranked eighth in the U.S. and 14th globally). He owns the influential financial data and media company that shares his namesake, Bloomberg LP, and his considerable wealth makes it possible for him to totally self-finance his campaign and marshal the resources to mount a competitive late-season presidential run. He’d be the one candidate in the race whose personal wealth trumps Trump, and there is far less second guessing about the legitimacy of his earning power than there is about the real estate mogul turned GOP front-runner.
2) He’s been a Democrat, Republican and an independent: Before entering the world of politics, Bloomberg had been a lifelong member of the Democratic Party. But when he mounted his first mayoral run in the fall of 2001, he saw that his chances of winning the nomination on the Republican side of the aisle were better so he jumped ship. Buoyed by an endorsement from outgoing Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Bloomberg eked out a victory in a city that was overwhelmingly Democratic. Eventually Bloomberg bolted the Republican Party, where his social liberalism never fit it in, and he became an independent. Some accused him of cynical political expediency, but in a general election his ideological parity may prove popular.
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3) He’s very proactive on guns: Bloomberg has broken with Republican allies in a big way when it comes to the issue of guns. During his time as NYC mayor (he co-founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which later became Everytown for Gun Safety) and even after he left office he has campaigned aggressively in favor of stricter gun control laws and has financed ads shaming his fellow politicians for stonewalling on the subject. His zero-tolerance policy for handguns on the streets will likely alienate right-wingers but also endear him to Democrats who are turned off by Sanders’ history of ambiguity on the gun issue.
4) He’s a perennial would-be candidate: This is far from the first time that Bloomberg has dispatched pollsters to test the waters for a potential presidential run. In 2008 and 2012, Bloomberg’s name was floated as a possible candidate, and he certainly took steps to weigh his chances. Each time, demographic challenges squandered his hopes and Barack Obama emerged triumphant. This year’s campaign may be the closest he’s ever come to actually getting in, but if he doesn’t it will simply be part of a larger narrative about Bloomberg’s ambitions clashing with the realities of running.
5) He backed controversial police tactics: Although Bloomberg was frequently hailed for presiding over a less racially polarized city than his predecessor, Giuliani, Bloomberg’s police department’s practices were divisive to say the least. The widely criticized “stop and frisk” policy of the NYPD was instituted on Bloomberg’s watch. There were also poorly received crackdowns on Occupy Wall Street protesters and the questionable surveillance of Muslim Americans. These policies would get increased scrutiny in a general election, amid the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.








