‘Loser’: Billionaires trade juvenile insults
Donald Trump and Michael Bloomberg have traded sharp jabs on Twitter with the commander-in-chief ripping the Democratic presidential candidate as a "loser," prompting the former Big Apple mayor to describe him as a "barking clown".
"Mini Mike is a 5'4" mass of dead energy who does not want to be on the debate stage with these professional politicians. No boxes please," Mr Trump wrote on Thursday in one of two tweets about Mr Bloomberg, who is 5 feet 8, the NY Post reports.
"He hates Crazy Bernie and will, with enough money, possibly stop him. Bernie's people will go nuts!"
The president also compared Mr Bloomberg to one of his Republican challengers in 2016.
Mini Mike Bloomberg is a LOSER who has money but can’t debate and has zero presence, you will see. He reminds me of a tiny version of Jeb “Low Energy” Bush, but Jeb has more political skill and has treated the Black community much better than Mini! https://t.co/qIef5VhjDr
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 13, 2020
But Mr Bloomberg fired back with his own tweet 20 minutes later, taking aim at Mr Trump's reputation as a self-made billionaire real estate developer.
.@realDonaldTrump - we know many of the same people in NY. Behind your back they laugh at you & call you a carnival barking clown. They know you inherited a fortune & squandered it with stupid deals and incompetence.
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) February 13, 2020
I have the record & the resources to defeat you. And I will. https://t.co/fO4azmZaUg
Mr Bloomberg, whose wealth Forbes estimates at $61.8 billion, making him the eighth-richest person in the US, is pouring his money into an advertising blitz to promote his presidential run and to knock Mr Trump.
Since throwing his hat in the ring in November, Mr Bloomberg, who is self-financing his campaign, has poured about $350 million into television, online and radio spots.
The media mogul has said he would be willing to spend $1 billion on the race.
Mr Trump, whom Forbes estimates to be worth $3.1 billion, and associated committees raised $154 million in the last three months of 2019 and have $195 million on hand, according to an analysis by the New York Times.
The president and the Republican National Committee spent about $9 million on advertising and polling in the fourth quarter.
Mr Trump and Mr Bloomberg even ran duelling ads that cost $10 million each during the Super Bowl earlier this month.
This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was republished her with permission.
