Campaign

Biden slams Bloomberg over ads tying him to Obama

Greg Nash

Joe Biden unloaded on Democratic presidential rival Mike Bloomberg on Wednesday after the former New York City mayor released campaign ads seeking to tie himself to former President Obama.

Biden, who has repeatedly underscored his time serving as Obama’s vice president, hinted he would bring up Bloomberg’s past criticism of Obama when the two Democratic candidates meet in Las Vegas for Wednesday’s primary debate.

“Welcome to the debates, Mike. We have a lot to catch up on about Barack Obama’s record,” Biden tweeted.

The 90-second video features a mock ad from Bloomberg and slams the billionaire businessman for spending “a lot of money this year” to create ads to make voters “think I’m a fan of Barack Obama.”

The video then highlights Bloomberg’s past criticism of the Affordable Care Act, climate change and Obama’s handing of racial issues.

“He passed a health care bill that does absolutely nothing to fix the big health care problems in this country,” Bloomberg says in a resurfaced clip from 2010. “It’s just a disgrace.”

“Obama did basically nothing. That administration did almost nothing,” Bloomberg also says in a clip from 2017 regarding the Obama administration’s efforts to tackle climate change. 

The Biden ad goes on to highlight Bloomberg’s past affiliation with President Trump, featuring several pictures of the two New York socialites together.

“I’m a friend of Donald Trump’s, he’s a New York icon,” Bloomberg said in a 2011 interview that’s shown in the ad.

The broadsides against Bloomberg come as the former mayor pours hundreds of millions of his own dollars into an advertising spree, which has included videos in which he has tied himself to Obama.

“He’s been a leader throughout the country for the past 12 years, Michael Bloomberg is here,” Obama says in a 2013 clip featured in a Bloomberg ad released this week. 

While several candidates have sought to tie themselves to Obama given his continued popularity with the Democratic base, Biden has put his eight years as vice president front and center, often touting his time in the “Obama-Biden administration.”

Bloomberg’s advertising blitz has led to a surge in polling, with national surveys showing him creeping into second and third place. His rise has led to a sharpening of attacks from the crowded primary field as candidates hope to blunt his momentum heading into Super Tuesday on March 3, when more than a dozen states will vote in the presidential nominating contest.

Biden in the video released Wednesday accused Bloomberg of using his ad campaign to cover up his mayoral record, including his ties with Obama, saying in the video that “money can’t rewrite history.”

Bloomberg fired back at Biden with an ad of his own, highlighting past praise the former vice president had for him.

“The best way to predict the future is to create it. I don’t know anybody I work with in my career, and I’ve been hanging around a long time, who does more to create the future than you, Mike,” Biden says in archival footage featured in Bloomberg’s ad.

Tags Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden Michael Bloomberg

Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

See all Hill.TV See all Video

Most Popular

Load more

Video

See all Video