MANHATTAN — Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he won't mount an independent campaign for the presidency out of fear that it would lead to the election of Ted Cruz or Donald Trump.
"As the race stands now, with Republicans in charge of both Houses, there is a good chance that my candidacy could lead to the election of Donald Trump or Senator Ted Cruz. That is not a risk I can take in good conscience," Bloomberg wrote in an editorial titled "The Risk I will Not Take" on Bloomberg View, the media company that he owns.
Bloomberg said Trump has "run the most divisive and demagogic presidential campaign I can remember, preying on people’s prejudices and fears." Cruz, he added, was also running an "extreme" campaign.
"His refusal to oppose banning foreigners based on their religion may be less bombastic than Trump’s position, but it is no less divisive," Bloomberg wrote of Cruz.
News of an independent presidential campaign by the billionaire former mayor first emerged in January but was couched as being possible only under certain conditions.
Bloomberg was considering spending $1 billion of his own money to enter the race if Trump or Cruz were to be selected as the Republican nominee and if Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was picked to be the Democratic nominee.
Most experts say Bloomberg's candidacy would have been a long shot, something the former mayor acknowledged in his piece.
"I’ve always been drawn to impossible challenges, and none today is greater or more important than ending the partisan war in Washington and making government work for the American people — not lobbyists and campaign donors," Bloomberg wrote.
"But when I look at the data, it’s clear to me that if I entered the race, I could not win. I believe I could win a number of diverse states — but not enough to win the 270 Electoral College votes necessary to win the presidency," he added.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has previously said that Bloomberg, whose net worth is estimated at $36.5 billion by Forbes, was too rich to be president.
"The people of this country are not going to turn to a billionaire to solve problems that were largely created by billionaires," said de Blasio, who is supporting Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for president.
Now, two months later, it is looking as if Clinton is inching her way toward the nomination.
"We cannot 'make America great again' by turning our backs on the values that made us the world’s greatest nation in the first place. I love our country too much to play a role in electing a candidate who would weaken our unity and darken our future — and so I will not enter the race for president of the United States," Bloomberg wrote.
Bloomberg said he was "not ready to endorse any candidate" but that he would be outspoken about the "threat that partisan extremism poses" to America.
"I will continue urging all voters to reject divisive appeals and demanding that candidates offer intelligent, specific and realistic ideas for bridging divides, solving problems, and giving us the honest and capable government we deserve," Bloomberg wrote.
