Mike Bloomberg pushes blunt message that Democrats can’t let Donald Trump win

Mike Bloomberg

Presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg launched a website with a blunt message to voters: “We Can’t Let Trump Win.”

A visit to WeCantLetTrumpWin.com now directs to a microsite for the New York Democrat’s campaign. There, a video plays of Bloomberg supporters appealing to Democratic primary voters’ pragmatic side.

“Hey Democrats, it’s time to pay attention,” says one woman on camera.

“We can’t afford to wait to start campaigning in the rest of the country. It’s time to think bigger and act bolder,” says one.

But more than just asking voters to consider electability, the Bloomberg campaign also indicts those Democratic candidates only focusing on early primary states.

“Trump is running unopposed in every state that will actually decide the general election,” says one voter.

“As a Pennsylvanian, I understand there’s a caucus in Iowa,” says another, “but what about here?”

The video will also be shared on YouTube and other social media channels as Bloomberg, a former New York Mayor, brings his case to voters.

“Donald Trump has waged an uninterrupted reelection campaign since his first day in office,” a campaign statement explains.

“Over the past several years, the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee have raised hundreds of millions of dollars, and they are spending immensely on social media. Trump will soon outpace every current Democratic candidate, except Mike Bloomberg, in cash-on-hand by almost 10 times, with millions more pouring in each day. His impeachment has generated a flurry of donations from loyalists. And unfortunately, recent polls show that major Democratic rivals are falling behind in key battleground states, partly a result of Trump campaign efforts.”

Bloomberg, a billionaire, has bluntly stressed he has the resources to close any gap with Republicans. So much so that he’s refusing to accept any campaign contributions.

So far, he’s backed that up.

Though his late entry in the race didn’t allow him to make the stage for the Democratic debate held last week, he has been on TV and computer screens — he recently bought the masthead ad on YouTube. Through three weeks, his campaign spending on digital ads has already surpassed $24 million, which far outstrips the rest of the Democratic field and is competitive with the Trump’s campaign, which had spent $31.7 million as of Dec. 20 over a much longer stretch of time.

But his digital ad buys are dwarfed by his TV spending. In the first week of his campaign, Bloomberg announced TV buys totaling $57 million.

In the past week, he’s stressed how that that can expand the geographic reach of his campaign even before the Iowa caucus or New Hampshire primary are held. On Saturday, he announced a plan to restore Democrats’ so-called blue wall by opening field operations in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Those are all states won by Democrats over two decades of elections but which went for Trump in his surprise 2016 victory.

Bloomberg’s team has opened offices in 20 states, a number that does not yet include Florida but which covers some states considered must-wins for Democrats in 2020.