Michael Bloomberg’s campaign is downplaying a report claiming the billionaire presidential hopeful is considering former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as his vice presidential running mate.
“We are focused on the primary and the debate, not VP speculation,” Jason Schechter, the campaign’s communications director, said in a statement to Deadline Saturday evening.
The statement came in response to a tweet earlier in the day from right-wing news aggregator Matt Drudge, who floated a headline declaring in all caps, “EXCLUSIVE: BLOOMBERG CONSIDERS HILLARY RUNNING MATE.”
The tweet linked to Drudge’s widely read website and said, “Sources close to Bloomberg campaign tell DRUDGE REPORT that candidate is considering Hillary as running mate, after their polling found the Bloomberg-Clinton combination would be a formidable force…”
The story was picked up by multiple media outlets including CNBC, the New York Post, the Boston Herald and the U.K.’s Daily Mail.
Despite the media frenzy surrounding the report, some Twitter users weren’t sold that two-time presidential candidate Clinton is ready to play second fiddle. That includes author, blogger and “Start Me Up” podcaster Kimberley Johnson, who immediately called the report “bullshit.”
“PEOPLE! The RIGHT is spreading the rumor Bloomberg is considering Hillary Clinton as his running mate,” Johnson tweeted. “It is BULLSHIT. Don’t let them fool you. That’s what they’re trying to do. They are stirring shit up. Don’t fall for it. SERIOUSLY, do not fall for it.”
Others pointed out that Clinton and Bloomberg are both New York residents, but the 12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says candidates for president and vice president on the same ticket “shall not be an inhabitant of the same state.”
“While Michael Bloomberg wanting Hillary Clinton as a VP running mate is awesome and inspired … the Constitution does not allow it, as they both reside in the same state,” tweeted businessman, University of Miami lecturer and “Strange Days Podcast” host Fernand R. Amandi.
New York Times reporter Adam Nagourney was also skeptical and tweeted, “Was this Bloomberg-Clinton ticket rumor floated out there to distract from Wash Post story on Bloomberg and women employees? Or just one of those campaign coincidences?”
Still, conservative actor and Trump supporter James Woods said he liked the idea. He tweeted a link to an article on the subject along with the caption: “Death Wish.”
By Anita Bennett [Deadline]