Bloomberg in 2017: "People know where I stand"
This Sunday on 60 Minutes, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks with Scott Pelley about his campaign for the Democratic nomination for president.
Bloomberg was previously profiled on the broadcast in 2017. In that interview, correspondent Steve Kroft spoke with him about his previous presidential ambitions; he had twice considered running but had never declared.
His aides said he had been prepared to spend a billion dollars of his own money to get elected in 2016. He ultimately didn't because he knew his chances as an independent candidate were slim—and his chances of being nominated from either major party were slimmer.
"I was mayor for a long time," Bloomberg told Kroft. "People know where I stand. I couldn't pretend to be something I'm not. For the Republicans, I'm pro-choice, pro-gay rights, pro-immigration. That's a good start there. You'll never get their nomination. On the Democratic side, I believe in teacher evaluation. The big banks, we need to help them rather than just keep trying to tear them down. Those are not particularly things that will help you get the nomination."
When Kroft asked him if he'd run for office again, Bloomberg all but said no, citing his advanced age as an issue.
So what has changed?
"I started watching and listening to the candidates," Bloomberg tells Pelley on this week's broadcast. "And they had ideas that made no sense to me whatsoever. Donald Trump is going to eat them for lunch."
Watch the 2017 interview with Bloomberg in full here: