Reuters
Michael Bloomberg speaks at the Institute of
- Michael Bloomberg may still run in 2020 after seeing Joe Biden's reputation damaged by allegations of inappropriate touching, Axios reported.
- Bloomberg backed out the race on March 5. Sources told Axios it was largely for fear he and Biden were fighting for the same voters.
- But now Bloomberg appears upbeat and is could come back, if Biden falters and Bloomberg senses a clear run for a centrist candidate, the sources said.
- In the last week, Biden has been accused of inappropriately touching women, allegations which are having an effect on his prospects for 2020. He has not yet formally declared.
Michael Bloomberg is still considering running for president in 2020, despite backing out last month, according to Axios.
Bloomberg has been spurred on by seeing Joe Biden stumble on allegations of inappropriate touching, according to the site's sources, and may come back if his fortunes continue to falter.
Bloomberg will reconsider running if he sees a clear path for a centrist candidate, which is currently blocked by former Vice President Biden, the sources said.
Axois said the assumption that Biden would run for 2020 was a significant reason Bloomberg ruled himself out the race on March 5. Biden has yet to formally declare his candidacy, but is widely expected to run.
Associated Press
Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at the Biden Courage Awards Tuesday, March 26, 2019, in New York.
The sources said Bloomberg backed out as the race looked like "a bloody fight for the same slice of voters," a source said. "He's a data guy," they told Axois. "He couldn't get the math to work."
But now Biden faces a setback after two women accused him of inappropriate behavior.
Lucy Flores, a 2014 candidate for lieutenant governor in Nevada, accused Biden of inappropriately kissing her neck during a 2014 campaign event on Friday.
"He proceeded to plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head," Flores told the New York Magazine. "My brain couldn't process what was happening. I was embarrassed. I was shocked. I was confused."
A second woman, Amy Lappos, 43, of Connecticut, alleged Biden grabbed her head to rub noses at a 2009 fundraiser for Rep. Jim Himes, whom she formerly worked for as a congressional aide.
"It wasn't sexual, but he did grab me by the head," Lappos said to The Hartford Courant on Monday. "He put his hand around my neck and pulled me in to rub noses with me. When he was pulling me in, I thought he was going to kiss me on the mouth."