Bloomberg officially announces he’s entering presidential race

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Sunday officially announced his entrance into the Democratic presidential primary field.

“We cannot afford four more years of President Trump’s reckless and unethical actions,” Bloomberg said in a statement. “He represents an existential threat to our country and our values. If he wins another term in office, we may never recover from the damage.”

The announcement follows weeks of speculation about whether he would launch a campaign and comes shortly after he dropped his first ad, which ABC News reported aired Saturday night in Tallahassee, Fla.

The 60-second spot, part of a $31.5 million ad buy, targets President Trump directly, saying Bloomberg is “taking on” Trump “to rebuild the country and restore faith in the dream that defines us, where the wealthy will pay more in taxes and the middle-class get their fair share.”

NEW — @MikeBloomberg in first TV ad touts his bio & targets Trump.

Ad closes with “jobs creator, leader, problem solved. Mike Bloomberg for president.” pic.twitter.com/Bd6O00uGDH

— Kendall Karson (@kendallkarson) November 24, 2019 

The ad, titled “Rebuild America,” describes Bloomberg as a “jobs creator,” “leader” and “problem solver” who as a “third-term mayor” helped bring New York City “back from the ashes” of 9/11.

Advertising Analytics confirmed with The Hill on Saturday that Bloomberg’s multimillion-dollar ad campaign would air in 98 local markets and on some national cable channels in the most expensive ad purchase from any candidate in one week of political advertising. The former mayor’s ad filmed by Kantar/CMAG is expected to run through the holiday weekend until Dec. 2.