Bloomberg to Sanders: ‘The Best Known Socialist in the Country Happens to Be a Millionaire With Three Houses’
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg makes no apologies for his massive wealth. In fact, he had no problem standing his ground when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) attempted to criticize his financial status. In one…
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg makes no apologies for his massive wealth. In fact, he had no problem standing his ground when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) attempted to criticize his financial status.
In one of his biggest highlights of the night, he called out Sanders for advocating for Democratic socialist policies while being a millionaire owning three homes.
“What a wonderful country we have. The best known socialist in the country happens to be a millionaire with three houses,” Bloomberg said. “What did I miss here?”
Sanders shot back, “Well, you’ll miss that I work in Washington, house one, live in Burlington, house two, and like thousands of other Vermonters, I do have a summer cabin. Forgive me for that.”
Watch the exchange below:
Prior to the “three houses” remark, the discussion intensified when Sanders called out Bloomberg for his wealth, labeling the distribution of it as “grotesque.”
“We have a grotesque and immoral distribution of wealth in income,” began socialist Bernie Sanders. “Mike Bloomberg owns more wealth than the bottom 125 million Americans. That’s wrong. That’s immoral.”
Watch the video below:
Bloomberg immediately fired back to defend himself. “I can’t speak for all billionaires,” responded Bloomberg.
He added, “All I know is I have been very lucky, made a lot of money and I’m giving it all away to make this country better, and a good chunk of it goes to the Democratic Party as well.”
The compelling response led to NBC’s Chuck Todd to pose another question. In so many words, he asked Bloomberg how much is “too much.”
“Is it too much?” Todd inquired. “Have you earned too much money — has it been an obscene amount of money? Should you have earned that much money?”
Bloomberg immediately fired back.
“Yes,” declared Bloomberg defiantly, “I worked very hard for it, and I’m giving it away.”
Despite Bloomberg’s fiery response, last night was an eye-opener for many Democratic viewers. After seeing Bloomberg face off against Sanders and Warren many are wondering if he’s really prepared to take the Oval Office.
While it’s no secret Bloomberg has the capital to maintain his campaign, Democrats are concerned about his political expertise. Like Sanders, Democrats fear Bloomberg’s campaign undermines political experience and insinuates that money can simply buy an election. However, there’s still a long road ahead until November.