The campaign of the billionaire Michael Bloomberg has attempted to halt talk that he is considering the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, for his running mate in the 2020 election but with limited success.
Speculation mounted after Matt Drudge of the popular right-wing news aggregator Drudge Report tweeted that the former New York City mayor was “considering Hillary as running mate, after their polling found the Bloomberg-Clinton combination would be a formidable force.”
EXCLUSIVE: BLOOMBERG CONSIDERS HILLARY RUNNING MATE
Sources close to Bloomberg campaign tell DRUDGE REPORT that candidate is considering Hillary as running mate, after their polling found the Bloomberg-Clinton combination would be a formidable force… https://t.co/XH3TJA9nas pic.twitter.com/wBwRh1hVJH
— MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) February 15, 2020
Drudge also said Bloomberg was considering moving his permanent residence to one of his homes in Colorado or Florida “since the electoral college makes it hard for a POTUS and VPOTUS from the same state.”
Fox News cited an unidentified source close to Clinton saying she “wants back in” following her loss to Trump during the 2016 election.
While Clinton has not yet commented on the report, she has not been quiet about the 2020 election. She made headlines recently for her comments disparaging Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, her main 2016 primary rival who is now a leading contender for this year’s Democratic presidential nomination. Earlier this month in an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” however, Clinton had suggested she wasn’t likely to accept an offer to be vice president.
So far, the reports stating Clinton will be entering the fray have come from media outlets close to the Republican Party.
On the other hand, CNN reported that it is not going to happen. Bloomberg is a long way from leading, let alone winning, the race for the Democratic nomination. There’s no indication he would ask Clinton to be on his ticket, and no compelling reason why she would accept.
The Bloomberg campaign hasn’t outright denied the story, instead saying through a campaign spokesperson, “We are focused on the primary and the debate, not VP speculation.”
