Mike Bloomberg Is Out Of The 2020 Presidential Race Despite Spending $500 Million

Following his crushing losses on Super Tuesday, Mike Bloomberg announced he’s officially dropping out of the 2020 U.S. presidential race on Wednesday. He is now endorsing former U.S. vice president and fellow moderate Joe Biden.

The billionaire and former New York City mayor won only a single Super Tuesday race despite dishing out at least $500 million on his short-lived campaign. Biden, on the other hand, emerged victorious in 10 races, beating out fellow candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, who won only in California and three other states.

“I’ve always believed that defeating Donald Trump starts with uniting behind the candidate with the best shot to do it,” said Mike Bloomberg in his announcement. “After yesterday’s vote, it is clear that candidate is my friend and a great American, Joe Biden. I’ve known Joe for a very long time. I know his decency, his honesty, and his commitment to the issues that are so important to our country—including gun safety, health care, climate change, and good jobs,” he added as he vouched for Biden on his way out of the race.

Bloomberg entered the 2020 Democratic primary on Nov. 24, 2019, nearly a year after most of his competitors joined the race. He initially positioned himself as a centrist substitute to Biden, warning the Democrats that nominating Sanders would only spell debacle for the party.

However, he failed to gain traction in the already packed Democratic field after weathering controversies regarding his treatment of women and implementation of the stop-and-frisk program in New York City, a policy that involves searching, questioning, and detaining civilians on the streets for contraband.

After skipping the first four contests of the race, Bloomberg poured out his funds into Super Tuesday races as he gambled on the strong support he was receiving in North Carolina and Virginia. Unfortunately, his hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of ads still fell short in impressing political pundits and voters on the debate stage.

At the Democratic debate in Nevada in February, Bloomberg was particularly ragged on by his opponent, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who pounced on his poor political record and even likened him to U.S. President Donald Trump.

“I’d like to talk about who we’re running against: a billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians,” said Warren. “And no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about Michael Bloomberg,” she added, drawing applause from the crowd.