Conway Suggests Bloomberg May Not Be Welcomed by Dem Candidates Who Dislike Billionaires

Kellyanne Conway, then-adviser to President Donald Trump, speaks to reporters in the James S. Brady press briefing room at the White House, in Washington, on Aug. 21, 2018. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway reacted to Michael Bloomberg’s announcement to run for president in 2020, suggesting that he might not be welcomed by the Democratic field.

Bloomberg, a billionaire and the former mayor of New York City, launched his bid for the presidency in a written statement on Nov. 24, saying that he was running “to defeat Donald Trump and rebuild America.” The 77-year-old will be joining a crowded Democratic field that has already seen multiple candidates drop out of the race.

In an interview with Face the Nation on Sunday, Conway suggested that Bloomberg might not be welcomed in the Democratic field as several front-runners have run on platforms opposing the ultra-wealthy.

“It’s not that Michael Bloomberg may not be unwelcome by the national electorate ... is he welcome in his own Democratic Party? We have front-runners saying, ‘We don’t want any billionaires in the country, let alone in the Democratic primary,’” Conway said.

Candidates like Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have already criticized Bloomberg’s wealth. Following Bloomberg’s announce, Sanders said at a campaign event that his opponent is “not going to get very far in this election.”

Both Warren and Sanders have unveiled plans to impose taxes on the ultra-rich. The wealth tax has been repealed by several Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in recent years due to the economic impacts, according to the Tax Foundation. It argues that net wealth taxes could “harm risk-taking and entrepreneurship, harming innovation, and impacting long-term growth,” citing the OECD report.

Conway also dismissed Bloomberg’s message of “rebuilding America,” saying “America [has] already elected a builder.”

“His new ad that he‘ll put millions behind is all unicorns and rainbows. Keep your health care if you’d like to—and if you don’t, I have something better. Rebuild America. Number one, we’ve heard that from Obama-Biden,” Conway said. “Michael Bloomberg is saying rebuild America. America already elected a builder. If we want to truly rebuild America, the people who work behind us, for you and me, ought to get infrastructure done.”

“We have a builder in the White House who wants them to do what [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi said she'll do this fall—it’s almost Christmas—which is pass the USMCA,” she added.

Conway also offered some praise to Bloomberg saying that she thought he was a great mayor while adding that she'd rather see him run for mayor again than run for president.

“Michael Bloomberg was a great mayor of New York City. I lived there under Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg. All four of my kids were born in New York when Michael Bloomberg was mayor. I wish he would be mayor of New York City again,” she said.

Bloomberg is expected to face an uphill battle after entering the face. A poll from Morning Consult showed that just 4 percent of 2,225 registered Democratic voters would pick him as their first choice to take on Trump in 2020.

According to Real Clear Politics, Joe Biden is leading the group polling at an average 29.8 percent, followed by Bernie at 19.3 percent, and Warren at 18.5 percent.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.