The feud between President Trump and Mike Bloomberg appears to be escalating.
Trump kicked off Thursday morning with with tweet taking aim at Bloomberg, reminding him of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush during the 2016 presidential campaign cycle and calling the former New York mayor a “5’4′ mass of dead energy.”
Trump also seemed to take aim at the backlash Bloomberg has recently faced over his controversial “stop and frisk” policing policy, despite the President supporting the policy himself.
Mini Mike Bloomberg is a LOSER who has money but can’t debate and has zero presence, you will see. He reminds me of a tiny version of Jeb “Low Energy” Bush, but Jeb has more political skill and has treated the Black community much better than Mini! https://t.co/qIef5VhjDr
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 13, 2020
Mini Mike is a 5’4” mass of dead energy who does not want to be on the debate stage with these professional politicians. No boxes please. He hates Crazy Bernie and will, with enough money, possibly stop him. Bernie’s people will go nuts!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 13, 2020
The latest mudslinging between Bloomberg and Trump comes as Bloomberg has gained traction in the polls, along with his robust campaign spending. He is expected to qualify for the upcoming Democratic presidential debate next week in Las Vegas ahead of the state’s caucuses.
TPM has reached out to Trump and Bloomberg’s campaigns. We will update this post if we hear back.
It didn’t take long for Bloomberg to hit back, tweeting within minutes that people who they mutually know in New York call Trump “a carnival barking clown” behind his back.
.@realDonaldTrump – we know many of the same people in NY. Behind your back they laugh at you & call you a carnival barking clown. They know you inherited a fortune & squandered it with stupid deals and incompetence.
I have the record & the resources to defeat you. And I will. https://t.co/fO4azmZaUg
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) February 13, 2020
Bloomberg also responded to Trump’s Thursday morning jabs about his height during a campaign event in Greensboro, North Carolina.
“Somebody said, you know, that he’s tall and he calls me little Mike,” Bloomberg said. “And the answer is: Donald, where I come from we measure your height from your neck up.”
Bloomberg responds to Trump attacks pic.twitter.com/2HAaKqggeL
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) February 13, 2020
This isn’t the first Trump has launched attacks against Bloomberg. Earlier this month, Trump told Fox News during a pre-Super Bowl interview that he thinks “of little” upon hearing Bloomberg’s name.
“You know, now he wants a box for the debates to stand on. OK,” Trump said on Fox News earlier this month. “It’s OK. There’s nothing wrong. You can be short. Why should he get a box to stand on? He wants a box for the debates. Why should he be entitled? Does that mean everyone else gets a box?”
In response, Bloomberg’s campaign said that “the President is lying and that he “is a pathological liar who lies about everything: his fake hair, his obesity, and his spray-on tan.”
Correction: This post originally said that Greensboro was in South Carolina. We regret the error.
