Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway on Sunday morning hit at newly-announced 2020 Democratic candidate Mike Bloomberg by calling his campaign advertisements "all unicorns and rainbows," and criticizing his health care ideas as similar to the Obama administration.
Bloomberg was the first topic CBS News' Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan asked Conway to comment about on the show. Conway started by saying that the 77-year-old billionaire's late entrance into the 2020 race "means that the Democratic field is underwhelming."
"I will say a couple of things about Michael Bloomberg," Conway said. "His new ad that he'll put millions behind is all unicorns and rainbows."
She continued by characterizing Bloomberg's health care stance as similar to Obamacare, which she has associated with candidate Joe Biden, who was vice president under President Barack Obama.
"Keep your health care if you like to and if you don't, I've got something better for you. Let's rebuild America," Conway said. "Number one, we heard that from Obama-Biden and Obama-Biden care passed almost 10 years ago and as we sit here today, over 28 million Americans have no health insurance of any kind."
.@KellyannePolls on @MikeBloomberg entering the 2020 race: “It means that the Democratic field is underwhelming.” Adds that @realdonaldtrump is "ready" to take on his challengers. https://t.co/OQuCAeleqS pic.twitter.com/Vm0b2Bo0lk
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) November 24, 2019
On his campaign website launched on Sunday, Bloomberg stated, "We have a health care system that costs too much and doesn't cover everyone" and that he would outline a plan for "providing quality health are for every American."
An affordable health care page addressed Obamacare, as Conway remarked.
"Mike believes every American should have access to affordable medical care, and expanding Obamacare and Medicare is the best way to achieve universal coverage," Bloomberg's website states.
It continues that as New York City's mayor, a businessman and a philanthropist, Bloomberg "has pioneered bold health initiatives" that have included promoting clean air, increasing cancer screenings, reducing road deaths and injuries, and curbing smoking among teenagers.
When Brennan asked Conway to weigh in on another New York billionaire challenging Donald Trump, Conway replied: "I think that President Trump will be ready." She then attacked Bloomberg's campaign phrase and promise to "rebuild America."
"America already elected a builder," Conway said, referring to Trump. "So we have a builder in the White House who wants them to do what [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi said she'd do this fall, it's almost Christmas, which is pass that [United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement], which would be more jobs like he's talking."
Conway said Bloomberg "was a great mayor" and that she wished he would be New York City mayor again – but that the question has become if Americans want another billionaire who is "going to throw" money to get elected.
"Billionaire Trump never did," said Conway, who was a 2016 Trump campaign manager. "We were under-resourced and understaffed."
Bloomberg faced criticism from others for buying more than $30 million in ads for his campaign.
Fellow presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said he was "disgusted by the idea that Michael Bloomberg or any billionaire thinks they can circumvent the political process and spend tens of millions of dollars to buy elections."
Another billionaire candidate, Tom Steyer, has also gotten heat for spending a fortune on his ads.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
A Los Angeles native, Jessica Kwong grew up speaking Spanish, Cantonese and English, in that order. Her journalism career started ... Read more
