NEW YORK, NY — With his focus on President Trump, Michael Bloomberg launched his campaign to replace him on Sunday. the former mayor of New York released an ad, launched a website, and asked people to join his campaign.
“Mike Bloomberg for president,” the ad says. “Jobs creator, leader, problem solver. “It’s going to take all three to build back a country.”
The ad covers the outlines of Bloomberg’s life from starting his company and growing it into an international one to his time as mayor of New York and his work on gun control and climate change.
The ad also speaks of his time as mayor in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.
“He became a three-term mayor who brought a city back from the ashes bringing jobs and hope with it,” the narrator says.
Bloomberg, who has not appeared in any debate, joins a still very-crowded Democratic field. He has already filed paperwork to get on the ballot in Alabama and Arkansas. On Thursday, he filed with the Federal Election Commission, officially creating his website.
In recent weeks, Bloomberg has addressed potential obstacles to his candidacy.
A spokesman released a statement saying that Bloomberg recognizes that in some cases, his previous treatment of women was unacceptable and doesn’t represent who he is now. Last Sunday, he appeared before a black church in Brooklyn and apologized for the stop and frisk policy of policing that dominated the last years of his administration.
“I want you to know that I realize back then I was wrong, and I am sorry,” he said. at the Christian Cultural Center. He told the congregation that while the goal had been “saving lives,” too many innocent people got caught up in the process
Bloomberg has not made a speech declaring his candidacy but the ad appears on his YouTube page under the title, “Rebuild America: Join Mike Bloomberg’s 2020 Presidential Campaign.”
The ad ends with the narrator saying, “Mike Bloomberg for President.”
Bloomberg spent around $39 million to put the ad on television stations around the country and is more than all of the Democratic candidates except Tom Steyer have spent on television ads combined this election cycle.
In addition to the television ads, Bloomberg has also spent millions on Facebook ads and is expected to spend more than $10 million on voter registration efforts around the country.
While Bloomberg has high name recognition, he has an uphill battle to turn that familiarity into votes. In the few polls that have addressed him possibly running, he has been in the single digits with high negatives.