WASHINGTON (CNN) -- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told CNN Tuesday he thinks a crowded presidential field is beneficial to the American public, but he brushed aside suggestions he might one day appear alongside Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, on a third-party ticket.

"Maybe he was talking about somebody else from New York," Bloomberg told CNN's Wolf Blitzer regarding Hagel's earlier comments that a "Nebraska boy" and a "New York boy" could team up for a presidential bid.

"Chuck Hagel is a good guy," Bloomberg added. "He is very smart. He is independent. He says what he thinks. And I'm proud to have him as a friend."

Asked if conditions are prime for a third party candidate to emerge, Bloomberg said, "it depends."

"If the public comes up with candidates that they find acceptable from two parties, no." he said. "And if they don't find them acceptable, three or four parties."

"There is nothing magical about two," he added.

Watch Wolf Blitzer's full interview with Bloomberg on The Situation Room, 4 p.m. ET