Billionaire Michael Bloomberg will have a “difficult” time jumping into the 2020 race should the former New York mayor decide to run, Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang said Friday.
“It’s going to be very, very difficult for him to jump in right now and somehow replace the thousands of conversations many of the candidates have had with voters in New Hampshire and Iowa and around the country with ad buys. There are limits to what money can do,” Yang – whose signature campaign proposal is a “universal basic income” of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 – said in a Friday interview with CNN’s John Berman on “New Day.”
“We’re seeing some of the limits of what money can do with other candidates. And so I think he’s going to have his work cut out for him, if he jumps in,” Yang continued.
Bloomberg, who had said in March that he wouldn’t run for president, is now preparing a potential run for a 2020 bid, a spokesman for the billionaire told CNN.
Bloomberg is expected to file the necessary paperwork to get on the Democratic primary ballot in Alabama, which has a filing deadline on Friday — but he has yet to make a final decision on a run, the spokesman said.
Asked what Bloomberg’s candidacy would change about the Democratic race, Yang told CNN with a laugh, “It’s probably going to change the price of advertising in some of the early states and certainly Mike has a very valuable perspective to offer.”