Mike Bloomberg's response to people begging him to run for president: NFW
As a result, a lot of people want him to run for president of the United States.
Those people should not get their hopes up. It seems unlikely he's going to run, according to a new story from Matthew Garrahan and Ben McLannahan at The Financial Times.
In August, Rupert Murdoch tweeted that Bloomberg should run for president. He called him the "greatest mayor."
Garrahan and McLannahan say Bloomberg's response to seeing Murdoch's tweet was, "No f--king way." They source Bloomberg's quote to an "insider."
This should tamp down the increasing speculation that Bloomberg will run for president.
Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, tweeted (twice) about chatter of Bloomberg running for president. In his first tweet, he said, "Word from those that know: Mike Bloomberg now seriously considering Independent run."
Bill Ackman, the billionaire hedge fund manager, recently said, "My view is that Michael Bloomberg is going to run for president and Michael Bloomberg is going to win."
Though Bloomberg was a fantastic mayor, it's a very different job than being president.
He would have to campaign across the nation. And his positions on issues like gun control and government regulation (the "big-soda ban") would make it tough for him to win a general election. And then, even as president, he would have to wrestle with the clown show that is Congress, which would be extra painful for a guy who would run as an independent. He wouldn't have support from either side.
Right now, Bloomberg is fully engaged with his company Bloomberg LP, which makes financial data terminals.
"He is excited to get up in the morning . . . you can tell," media mogul Barry Diller told Garrahan and McLannahan. "He is a curious individual, so when he came back and so much had changed he got excited all over again. He is genuinely on the case."
Bloomberg has overhauled his company, with a number of key executives departing or shifting into new roles on the news side of the organization.
The terminal business is under attack from new upstarts, as well as a slow-down in the banking sector, which could lead to fewer terminal sales.
Protecting a multi-billion dollar terminal business may not be as noble as running the United States, but it's still an exciting, invigorating job. And, importantly, it's not a democracy. Bloomberg owns 90% of his company, so what he says goes. He doesn't have to deal with a zoo of lawmakers.