Advantage: Bernie Sanders (and Donald Trump)
Bloomberg should not have gotten on that debate stage. Ouch.
Quick note: My wife’s scans were great. Thanks for the prayers. I really do appreciate them.
The headlines in Vegas could write themselves after last night’s debate. Ouch.
“Pocahantas went on the warpath against Bloomberg.”
“Bloomberg takes a gamble in Vegas.”
“Bloomberg stopped and frisked in Nevada.”
“Snake eyes for Bloomberg”
It was a really bad night for Mike Bloomberg. He could potentially spend tons more money to compensate. He probably will. He continues to buy up support through donations. Stacey Abrams of Georgia went on The View to defend him. Turns out he had given her organization $5 million. The question is whether people who will support him on television because of his money will actually vote for him.
Elizabeth Warren was first out of the gate savaging Bloomberg. If you have not seen this, you simply must:
And if that wasn’t enough:
Brutal. Just brutal.
All of this, of course, helps Bernie Sanders. Warren and Klobuchar now have super PACs that will prop them up to keep them in the race. Biden will not leave till South Carolina. Polling there shows he is going to do okay, which will keep him in.
By the way, Bloomberg did have one great line in the debate and it fell flat with the Democrats on stage. Listen to the reaction from Warren and Sanders. That tells you everything you need to know. Interestingly enough, Warren was most aggressive against Bloomberg so Sanders did not have to get his hands dirty.
They all hate Bloomberg. They will all work to annihilate Bloomberg together at this point. That keeps Sanders in the lead. The Democratic primaries are all proportional in how they assign delegates. That means even if Bloomberg keeps it close to Sanders, Sanders will keep building up his lead in delegates.
On Super Tuesday, Sanders looks like he will win California despite Bloomberg outspending and out staffing California than all the other candidates combined. This is not a good investment for the former mayor.
All of this, of course, helps Donald Trump. The longer it takes the Democrats to consolidate and the more likely it is that Sanders is the nominee, the better things look for Donald Trump in November.
The hits on Sanders from the press about his health, etc. are not really having an impact. All of this gives President Trump an under the radar advantage. When Sanders becomes the nominee, the press that has currently joined Democrats in assailing Sanders will pretend those attacks never happened. An American public already deeply cynical about the press will realize just how badly the press suddenly wants Bernie to be President. The distrust of the press will grow. That helps President Trump.
One more fun moment from last night in Las Vegas:
