Bloomberg News Political Reporters On Edge Over Boss’ Possible 2020 Bid

attends The Robin Hood Foundation's 2018 benefit at Jacob Javitz Center on May 14, 2018 in New York City.
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 14: Michael Bloomberg speaks on stage during The Robin Hood Foundation's 2018 benefit at Jacob Javitz Center on May 14, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Robin Hood)
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Michael Bloomberg has put his political reporters — and the rest of the newsroom — on edge after he suggested in a Radio Iowa interview that he would potentially nix the outlet’s political coverage if he were to follow through with plans to run for president in 2020, Buzzfeed News reported.

Bloomberg also told Radio Iowa that he would probably sell his company or put it in a blind trust if he runs.

“Quite honestly, I don’t want all the reporters I’m paying to write a bad story about me,” Bloomberg told the radio station, adding that his reporters could just “not cover politics at all” or attach a disclaimer to each piece that is published.

According to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Buzzfeed, the comments sparked “paranoia” in the newsroom, in Buzzfeed’s words.

“A lot of people are confused and don’t really know what to expect in the next two years,” a Bloomberg News staffer told Buzzfeed.

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Notable Replies

  1. The last person we need again as another President is just one more oligarch there to get richer. He’s just one more oligarch like Trump and Jamie Diman. America needs a courageous young Progressive to have a chance, like Beto or several others likely to run.

  2. Boss. Boss’s. Bosses. Bosses’. Notice how all the variations that end with an additional sibilant also have an additional s at the end.

  3. Please don’t compare Bloomberg with Trump, that’s ridiculous. Bloomberg is a self made billionaire (Trump inherited a fortune and blew most of it), a gentleman, and is very intelligent. People I know that work for him have nothing but respect for his cool demeanor. He’s not a hot head infant like Trump, he is the opposite, a mature adult. And no, Bloomberg is not running for President to get richer. That’s also ridiculous. He actually wants to do good. Remember Trump had NO intention of winning, he was running to market his “brand”, promote his TV show, etc. He NEEDS money, he’s worth only a fraction of what he says he is worth. When he won he had the look that said “oh no, what do I do now??”. He wanted to whine about how the election was stolen from him, further promoting his “brand”. Bloomberg does not need money, and he would not be running to make himself richer.

    Now if you disagree with him on policy or don’t want him to be President, fine. Yes, I’d much prefer Kamala Harris or Beto, but Bloomberg would be a fine President if elected. He would not be making decisions based on how much it benefits him financially.

    Either way, please don’t compare him to Trump. They are opposites.

  4. Blithely stressing your employees out about a possible loss of livelyhood as we enter the holiday season, that’s a strong start for showing off ones ability to connect with the average person…

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