Sources close to gun-grabber Michael Bloomberg indicate the former New York Mayor is thinking about entering the race for the presidency and is willing to spend $1 billion to win the White House.
Bloomberg’s run would be a third-party run as an independent.
On January 23, CBS New York/AP quoted anonymous sources who said, “Bloomberg would strongly consider running if the general election looked like it would be a contest between Democrat Bernie Sanders and Republicans Donald Trump or Ted Cruz.” Two days later, CBS New York reported that “Bloomberg is taking a look at the 2016 presidential landscape, and putting the pieces in place for a possible presidential run.”
Hillary Clinton responded to the news by saying, “What he said is if I didn’t get the nomination he might consider it. Well I’m gonna relieve him of that and get the nomination so he doesn’t have to.”
But CBS New York countered by saying Clinton’s nonchalant response might miss the point. Bloomberg is not only “putting the pieces in place” but is also “ramping up” a possible run—and he “has already done polling and has hired a consultant to get him on the ballot in all 50 states.”
Sources have not discussed any specific policies that Bloomberg would focus on if the presidential run actually happens, but if the past is any indicator, it is safe to assume that gun control would be front and center.
Bloomberg funds two gun control groups—Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America—which have spent years pushing for expanded background checks and other gun controls at the federal level. Everytown and Moms Demand have simultaneously fought against pro-Second Amendment measures at the state level while trying to use shame campaigns to pressure business owners into denying customers the ability to carry guns for self-defense in various stores around the country.
In February 2015, Bloomberg talked gun control apart from his proxy organizations, suggesting that gun bans should be instituted for minority males. The Aspen Times reported Bloomberg saying, “Cities need to get guns out of [the]… hands” of persons who are “male, minority, and between the ages of 15 and 25.”
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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