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Three attacks Trump will use against Bloomberg
Mega-billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s case for why he’s the best person to take on Trump is simple: He’s the sane center between two extremes. Having bought his way into second place with a last-minute $400 million ad blitz, Bloomberg is presenting himself as a sensible alternative to frontrunner Bernie Sanders. He contends that Sanders’ political revolution will alienate moderates and swing voters—an argument that has quite a bit of purchase with centrist Democrats and moderate Republicans.
Bloomberg maintains that Sanders’ radical past and embrace of the socialist label will provide ample ammunition for Trump’s campaign to use against him.
But there are a few problems with this narrative. For starters, Bloomberg isn’t particularly well liked among those groups he supposedly has the power to win over. When he entered the race in December, Bloomberg’s net favorability was at -60 points among Republicans and -25 points among independents. Democrats were about evenly split.
Sanders has been a national figure constantly in the public eye for half a decade. Bloomberg hasn’t. While Sanders is almost universally known, 17 percent of Americans have never heard of Bloomberg or do not know enough about him to form an opinion. And if his debut in Nevada is any indicator, the more voters get to know Bloomberg, the less they…
