Michael Bloomberg under et valgkamparrangement i West Palm Beach, Florida, den 3. mars 2020. Foto: Maria Alejandra Cardona / Reuters / Scanpix.

Michael Bloomberg trekker seg fra nominasjonskampen i Det demokratiske partiet, og oppgir dermed forsøket på å bli presidentkandidat i USA.

Beslutningen ble fattet etter at han kom dårlig ut av nominasjonsvalgene under supertirsdagen, der Joe Biden og Bernie Sanders dominerte.

Bloomberg hadde brukt mer enn en halv milliard dollar på reklame før han trakk seg, opplyser New York Times.

In an unprecedented effort to self-finance a presidential campaign — which some rivals derided as an attempt to buy the White House — Mr. Bloomberg’s bid cost him more than half a billion dollars in advertising alone. He also spent lavishly on robust on-the-ground operations, with more than 200 field offices across the country and thousands of paid staff. His operation dwarfed those of Democratic rivals who ultimately won states in which he had installed many dozens of employees and spent heavily on radio, television and direct mail ads.

Men investeringen og anstrengelsene var altså forgjeves, kanskje mest fordi Bloomberg hadde falt for eget grep:

He was not helped by two deeply unimpressive debate performances, during which Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts led an onslaught of attacks on his record and past statements. Mr. Bloomberg had difficulty countering criticism that could threaten him in a Democratic primary, on issues including his support for the discriminatory stop-and-frisk policing tactic and his treatment of women in the workplace.

Bloomberg anbefaler nå sine tilhengere å støtte Joe Biden.

Den demokratiske nominasjonsprosessen ser nå ut til å bli et kappløp mellom Biden og Sanders.

Kjøp Roger Scrutons bok «Konservatismen» fra Document Forlag her!