NEW YORK CITY — Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a potential independent candidate for president, said Wednesday that he is engaged in an experiment to influence the race.
Asked at a news conference to comment on the outcome of Super Tuesday’s multistate contests, Bloomberg described the Republican competition as a horse race and said the two Democratic candidates were still both very much in contention.
None of it, he was quick to point out, affects his plans, because he’s not a candidate. But that doesn’t mean he’s going to stop talking about the race.
Asked whether someone can truly influence the national debate without being a candidate, Bloomberg said he didn’t know.
“We’re doing that experiment right now,” he said. “I think I have an obligation to try to do it.”
The 65-year-old billionaire would bankroll his own presidential bid and doesn’t need to worry about fundraising or spending a few million dollars to forge the beginnings of a campaign that ultimately might not happen.
Bloomberg has long criticized the declared candidates, seeking to paint them as partisans with no ideas. He claims he is speaking out against all because he wants to influence the national debate on the major issues.
