Former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg is suspending his campaign after a dismal Super Tuesday showing, saying Wednesday that he would endorse former vice president Joe Biden.
“Three months ago, I entered the race for president to defeat Donald Trump. Today, I am leaving the race for the same reason: to defeat Donald Trump. It is clear to me that staying in would make achieving that goal more difficult,” Bloomberg said in a statement.
He added that Biden is “the candidate with the best shot” of defeating President Trump.
“I’ve known Joe for a very long time. I know his decency, his honesty, and his commitment to the issues that are so important to our country – including gun safety, health care, climate change, and good jobs,” the former mayor said.
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, @JoeBiden. pic.twitter.com/cNJDIQHS75
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) March 4, 2020
Reports broke Tuesday night that Bloomberg would reexamine his role in the race after an all-in strategy to win Super Tuesday states backfired. Despite spending over $500 million to fund a national advertising campaign and a host of staff, Bloomberg failed to win a single state among the 14 in contention on Tuesday, only capturing a victory in American Samoa.
Bloomberg spent over $100 million alone on California and Texas, the day’s biggest prizes, in the buildup to the primaries, but finished third in both states to Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders (D., Vt.).
“Here’s what is clear,” Bloomberg told supporters in Florida on Tuesday night. “No matter how many delegates we win tonight, we have done something no one else thought was possible: In just three months, we’ve gone from 1 percent in the polls to being a contender for the Democratic nomination for president.”
Bloomberg rose in the polls last month despite controversial comments on racial police profiling during his time as mayor, and qualified for the Nevada debate. But Bloomberg suffered a poor performance at the hands of Senator Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), who slammed him for sexist comments and his billionaire status, and never recovered his momentum.
President Trump, who has dogged Bloomberg with the nickname “Mini Mike,” reacted to the news on Twitter.
Mini Mike Bloomberg just “quit” the race for President. I could have told him long ago that he didn’t have what it takes, and he would have saved himself a billion dollars, the real cost. Now he will pour money into Sleepy Joe’s campaign, hoping to save face. It won’t work!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2020