Worst investment return in history? Bloomberg bows out of Presidential race
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has suspended his presidential campaign after spending more than $500m on advertisements.
Bloomberg, one of the world’s richest men, dropped out after failing to win any of the key Super Tuesday Democratic primary states yesterday. He did, however, claim victory in the territory of American Samoa.
Instead, it was former Vice President Joe Biden who took the lead to become the Democratic Party’s nomination to face Donald Trump in November’s election, with Bernie Sanders not far behind.
Bloomberg’s camp released a statement this afternoon to say he was dropping out of the race, while also throwing his weight behind Biden’s presidential bid.
“I’ve always believed that defeating Donald Trump starts with uniting behind the candidate with the best shot to do it,” he said.
“After yesterday’s vote, it is clear that candidate is my friend and a great American, Joe Biden.”
Bloomberg’s campaign started just three months ago, meaning he missed the first four primaries and instead focussed his entire efforts on winning big on Super Tuesday.
The former Republican New York City mayor started to climb the polls last month after spending hundreds of millions of dollars on online and television advertisements, however it was short lasting.
After two widely panned debate performances the billionaire lost any momentum, culminating in yesterday’s showing.
“Three months ago, I entered the race for president to defeat Donald Trump,” he said.
“Today, I am leaving the race for the same reason: to defeat Donald Trump – because it is clear to me that staying in would make achieving that goal more difficult.”
The Democratic Primary contest is now essentially a two-horse race between Biden and Sanders.
The only other remaining candidates officially left are congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and senator Elizabeth Warren.
While Gabbard has all but ceased campaigning, Warren has continued her push, despite disappointing primary results.
Warren is now under pressure to quit the race and throw her support behind Sanders, who is a fellow left-wing candidate.