Presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg said Monday that former White House hopefuls Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg “behaved themselves” after they both dropped out of the 2020 race.
The former New York mayor said in a press conference outside his house that he “felt sorry” for the two candidates, who both plan to endorse former Vice President Joe Biden, but assured his supporters that he’s “in it to win it.”
“They represent their country and their states very well,” Bloomberg said. “And I felt sorry for them.”
“But I’m in it to win it,” he added. “And we are going to go out, and we’re going to go get him.”
Bloomberg said he spoke to both former candidates on Monday.
“I wished them all the best — I thought both of them behaved themselves,” he said
Bloomberg is among five Democrats still vying for the nomination, including fellow moderate Biden and self-described democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Klobuchar and Buttigieg dropped out ahead of Super Tuesday, when a third of all delegates across the country are in play.
Biden had a rough start to the primary season but won big in South Carolina on Saturday, boosting himself to second place in the primary with 54 delegates. Sanders currently leads with 60 delegates.
Bloomberg did not compete in the first four primaries, instead dedicating hundreds of millions of dollars to advertising in the 14 Super Tuesday states.