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How Michael Bloomberg is mulling a White House run against Donald Trump in 2020

The Jewish billionaire is toying with the idea of a presidential campaign

December 13, 2018 12:03
Michael Bloomberg in Iowa last week
3 min read

It is a now decades-old ritual. No sooner are the ballot boxes from the US mid-term elections stowed away, than aspiring presidential candidates — frontrunners, no-hopers and long-shots — begin beating a well-trodden path to Iowa.

The small midwestern state holds the first major test of the presidential primary season: a caucus in January 2020 which matters little in terms of accruing delegates to pick party candidates for the White House, but has assumed huge significance in terms of establishing credibility and momentum.

It is no surprise then that the former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg flew into Iowa last week to host a panel discussion on his new film about climate change.

Mr Bloomberg cares deeply about the issue, but this visit was about much more than global warming. There has been speculation for months that the Jewish billionaire is toying with a run for the presidency.