Trump mocks Bloomberg as ‘little Michael,’ predicts he won’t do well in 2020 race

President Trump said Friday that he doesn’t think Michael Bloomberg would perform well in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary but that he’d like to run against the billionaire businessman, mocking him as “little Michael.”

“He’s not going to do well, but I think he’s going to hurt [former Vice President Joe] Biden, actually,” Trump told reporters at the White House Friday morning when asked about the former New York City mayor’s plans to enter the 2020 race.

{mosads}Trump, who noted he knew Bloomberg “fairly well,” said he “doesn’t have the magic to do well.” Trump also suggested Bloomberg had “some personal problems” that would hamper him in the race.

“Little Michael will fail. He’ll spend a lot of money. He’s got some really big issues, he’s got some personal problems and he’s got a lot of other problems,” Trump said. “He will not do very well and if he did, I would be happy. There’s nobody I’d rather run against than little Michael.”

Bloomberg is preparing to to file paperwork to enter the Alabama primary ahead of the filing deadline on Friday, but has not said whether he will finally enter the Democratic primary.

Bloomberg was elected mayor of New York City as a Republican but left the party in 2007. He has known Trump for years, but their relationship soured after Trump announced his bid for the White House during the 2016 election.

“I’ve known Michael Bloomberg for a long time. If you go back early on, he said a lot of great things about Trump. But I know Michael, he became just a nothing,” Trump told reporters on Friday.