trump blooberg box fox intv
Trump takes a jab at Bloomberg with 'box' comment
01:46 - Source: CNN
Washington CNN  — 

President Donald Trump and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg traded barbs hours before the two billionaires are set to air competing advertisements during the Super Bowl.

Trump told Fox News in a clip released Sunday before the pre-Super Bowl interview with Sean Hannity that he “would love to run against Bloomberg” in the general election.

“I would love it,” Trump said.

The President took a swipe at Bloomberg’s height in the interview, calling him “very little,” and making a claim that the former mayor would use a “box for the debates to stand on.”

There’s no evidence that Bloomberg is trying to get a box to stand on for the Democratic debate.

Bloomberg’s campaign responded, saying there is “no basis for this.”

“The President is lying,” Bloomberg campaign spokesperson Julie Wood said in a statement that also mocked the President’s weight and appearance.

Trump also tweeted Saturday night about Bloomberg, using a negative nickname about the former mayor’s height.

Bloomberg responded Sunday, saying, “Donald Trump knows I can beat him — and the fear of that keeps him up tweeting about me late into the night.”

As the other Democratic candidates ready for Monday’s Iowa caucuses, Bloomberg is skipping the Hawkeye State.

In bypassing the first nominating contests, Bloomberg is charting his own path among a crowded Democratic primary field, putting his focus on the multiple states that will vote in the Super Tuesday contest in March.

But the former New York mayor is leveraging his personal wealth to air a barrage of ads. Bloomberg has spent more than $286 million on television, digital and radio advertisements – including a $10 million spot focused on his work to combat gun violence that is set to run during the Super Bowl.

So far, the strategy has shown signs of working – the positive ads have vaulted Bloomberg nationally to 10% in a recent Fox News poll and to 8% in a Quinnipiac survey, allowing him to pull even or slightly ahead of former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

CNN’s Kristen Holmes, Nikki Carvajal, Daniel Dale, Dan Merica, Fredreka Schouten and Cristina Alesci contributed to this report.