NEW YORK, July 24 (APP): Former longtime New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who bypassed his own run for the presidency this election cycle, will endorse Hillary Clinton in a prime-time address at the Democratic convention and make the case for Mrs. Clinton as the best choice to be the president of the United States for moderate voters in 2016, The New York Times reported Sunday.
Bloomberg, a billionaire who has not been a member of the Democratic Party since 2000; was elected the mayor of New York City as a Republican; and later became an independent.
But it reflects Bloomberg’s increasing dismay about the rise of Donald Trump and a determination to see that the Republican nominee is defeated, the Times said.
Mrs. Clinton is seeking to reach out to middle-of-the-road swing voters and even moderate Republicans uneasy about Trump. Polls show that significant numbers of Republicans remain wary of Trump, and question his fitness for the presidency.
Bloomberg will vouch for Mrs. Clinton from the perspective of a business leader and an independent, Howard Wolfson, a senior Bloomberg adviser was quoted as saying
Bloomberg, who has been sharply critical of Trump’s views on immigration and the economy, may fortify Mrs. Clinton’s appeal to the political center, accoring to the Times.
And with the Republican nominee basing his campaign on his background as a businessman, Bloomberg, a media executive and philanthropist, may help counter the Trump sales pitch.
Bloomberg and Mrs. Clinton are not personally close, but had a positive working relationship when he served as mayor and she as a senator from New York.
