LOWER EAST SIDE — Voters won't go for former Mayor Michael Bloomberg as president because he's too rich, according to his successor Mayor Bill de Blasio.
"The people of this country are not going to turn to a billionaire to solve problems that were largely created by billionaires," de Blasio said Monday when asked about rumors of Bloomberg's candidacy.
Media reports indicate that Bloomberg is considering spending $1 billion of his own money to enter the race as an independent third party candidate if fellow billionaire Donald Trump or Ted Cruz is selected as the Republican nominee and if Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is picked to be the Democratic nominee.
De Blasio, who has made income inequality a focus of his administration, said he has a great deal of respect for Bloomberg.
"I think he did some very good things for this city. Obviously I have my share of disagreements with him as well," de Blasio said.
But American voters are focused on income inequality and Bloomberg is not a leader on the issue, de Blasio said.
"I don't think he's focused on income inequality in his career in government. I think there is frustration in this country. Hillary Clinton, to her credit, says that the system is rigged against working people," de Blasio said.
"I also think the people of this country are speaking during this election. You saw over the last year the focus on the decline of the middle class, the focus on the economic challenges that everyday Americans are facing, the focus on income inequality," the mayor added.
Forbes estimates Bloomberg's net worth at $36.5 billion. Forbes also reports the Clintons earned $230 million after they left the White House, mostly from giving corporate speeches, and have a current net worth of $45 million.
De Blasio also initially withheld his endorsement from Clinton, his former boss, because he said he wanted to see her vision on income inequality.
The mayor didn't mention either of those issues during his enthusiastic endorsement of Clinton and repudiation of Bloomberg and Trump Monday.
"Donald Trump proves almost on a daily basis he can't be president of the United States because he says not only outlandish things but entirely inappropriate things," de Blasio said, citing Trump's controversial comments about women, Mexicans and Muslims.
"This country is not going to look for the status quo in this election. They want a fundamentally different vision," de Blasio added.
In the event that Clinton does not win the nomination, de Blasio said he would support whomever is the Democratic nominee.
