NEW YORK — (CNN) Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is considering an independent run for president — but the two candidates he’d be most likely to take on say they aren’t worried.
On Saturday, the New York Times first reported that Bloomberg is eyeing a run — particularly if Donald Trump is the Republican nominee and Bernie Sanders wins the Democratic contest.
Trump said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he’d relish the competition.
“Michael has been a friend of mine. I would love to have Michael Bloomberg run. I would love that competition,” Trump said. “I think I’d do very well against it.”
Sanders, meanwhile, said on ABC’s “This Week” that he’s “confident that we will win” if he’s in a three-way race against Trump and Bloomberg — in part because both are extraordinarily wealthy.
“It will tell people what I have been saying for a long time, is that this country is moving away from democracy to oligarchy; that billionaires are the people who are controlling our political life,” Sanders said.
Hillary Clinton said she’s doing her best to make sure Bloomberg never senses an opening.
“Well, the way I read what he said is, if I didn’t get the nomination, he might consider it,” Clinton said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Well, I’m going to relieve him of that and get the nomination so he doesn’t have to.”
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said on “Fox News Sunday” that he’s met Bloomberg “a couple of times, don’t know him well,” and thinks Bloomberg is too supportive of restrictions on Second Amendment rights.
“As of now, he’s just a private citizen who owns a big company. If he decides to become a candidate, we’ll engage in a debate at that time,” Rubio said.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush also cast Bloomberg as too far to the left.
“We have differing views, and I want to be the conservative candidate to lead the conservative party into the general election,” Bush said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose state neighbors New York City, wouldn’t comment on CNN’s “State of the Union” on whether Bloomberg would be a strong candidate.
“When you’re not a candidate, you don’t deserve to be evaluated as to whether you’d be a good president or not,” Christie said.
Asked if he was a good mayor, Christie said: “Oh yeah, he was a good mayor. Sure.”
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