Michael Bloomberg announced he was suspending his campaign after a poor performance on Super Tuesday, the biggest day of the Democratic primary election where over a dozen results flood in. The 78-year-old billionaire had hoped to emerge victorious after the landmark day, spending vast amounts of cash on an extensive advertising campaigns after controversially skipping the early primary voting states. But Mr Bloomberg failed to gain sufficient traction, falling far behind his rivals, former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.
14 states took to the polls, with Mr Bloomberg only emerging victorious in the US territory of American Samoa.
The former New York Mayor announced he was pulling out of the race on Twitter, where he endorsed Mr Biden.
He wrote: “Three months ago, I entered the race to defeat Donald Trump. Today, I’m leaving for the same reason. Defeating Trump starts with uniting behind the candidate with the best shot to do it. It’s clear that is my friend and a great American, Joe Biden.
“I’m immensely proud of the campaign we ran. I’m deeply grateful to all the Americans who voted for me, and to our dedicated staff and volunteers. I want you to stay engaged, active, and committed to our issues. I will be right there with you. And together, we will get it done.”
President Trump mocked the billionaire following the catastrophic defeat.
He wrote on Twitter: “The biggest loser tonight, by far, is Mini Mike Bloomberg. His ‘political’ consultants took him for a ride.
“$700 million washed down the drain, and he got nothing for it but the nickname Mini Mike, and the complete destruction of his reputation. Way to go Mike!”
Mr Biden emerged the winner from yesterday’s voting, having already clinched nine states of the 14 states, including Texas and Maine.
Mr Sanders has only won in three states, but included California – the key battleground state.
The result leaves the pair in a head-to-head battle to take on Mr Trump in the upcoming presidential election.
Mr Bloomberg officially entered the race on November 24, 2019, nearly 11 months after some of his competitors.
More to follow…
Freelanews is the editorial byline of Freelanews.com, used for staff reports, news updates, press releases, and collaborative stories produced by the Freelanews Editorial Team.
