Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Sunday that billionaires like former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who on Sunday officially announced his candidacy for president, are “not going to get very far in this election.”
The Vermont senator has condemned the wealthy throughout his White House campaign and went after Bloomberg specifically at a town hall in New Hampshire.
“We do not believe that billionaires have the right to buy elections, and that is why we are going to overturn Citizens United, that is why multibillionaires like Mr. Bloomberg are not going to get very far in this election, that is why we are going to end voter suppression in America,” Sanders said at his campaign event.
Bloomberg officially announced his bid for the White House on Sunday after weeks of speculation. The former mayor, who Forbes estimates is worth $54.1 billion, has said he will not accept donations and will fund his campaign on his own. He has already purchased a $31.5 million ad campaign purchase, the most expensive purchase of any candidate in one week of political advertising.
Sanders, along with other 2020 candidates, has blasted Bloomberg for using his money to influence the presidential race, calling his campaign ad buy “disgusting.”
“Tonight we say to Michael Bloomberg and other billionaires: Sorry you ain’t gonna buy this election,” he said in Iowa last month, according to CNN.