NEW YORK — Michael Bloomberg won’t be moving into the White House. The former New York City mayor and multibillionaire financial services magnate announced Tuesday that he will not run for president after months of mulling a 2020 campaign.
In an article on his eponymous website, Bloomberg said he will instead continue his work to fight climate change, promote gun control and back candidates “who can provide the leadership we need” on those and other crucial issues.
“I’ve come to realize that I’m less interested in talking than doing,” Bloomberg wrote. “And I have concluded that, for now, the best way for me to help our country is by rolling up my sleeves and continuing to get work done.”
Bloomberg served three terms as the city’s chief executive, first as a Republican and then as an independent. He officially registered as a Democrat in October amid speculation that he would mount a presidential campaign under the party’s banner.
Bloomberg said he felt confident that he would beat President Donald Trump in a general election, but was “clear-eyed” about how hard it would be to defeat an already crowded field for his new party’s nomination.
The nation’s most dire problems — including climate change and gun violence — are also likely to worsen in the next two years, Bloomberg said. He said he’s launching a new “grassroots effort” called Beyond Carbon to address the former issue by pushing the nation toward 100 percent renewable energy “as quickly as possible.”
While the Democratic Party has moved to the left, Bloomberg has reportedly questioned the #MeToo movement and stood behind the controversial stop-and-frisk tactics the NYPD used during his tenure as mayor.
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Even though he won’t be joining the field of presidential hopefuls, Bloomberg warned his fellow Democrats against picking someone too liberal to beat Trump.
“It’s essential that we nominate a Democrat who will be in the strongest position to defeat Donald Trump and bring our country back together,” Bloomberg wrote. “We cannot allow the primary process to drag the party to an extreme that would diminish our chances in the general election and translate into ‘Four More Years.'”