Michael Bloomberg for president in 2020? Iowa climate panel fuels rumors
Michael Bloomberg traveled to Iowa on Tuesday for a screening and panel discussion of his new climate change documentary “Paris to Pittsburgh," fueling rumors that the billionaire business mogul is eyeing a challenge to President Trump in 2020.
Set to debut Dec. 12 on National Geographic, the documentary details how Americans are battling the effects of climate change by implementing “green” energy practices. Bloomberg has been a sharp critic of Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord, a sweeping international agreement to address climate change.
The event marks Bloomberg’s first visit to Iowa, a key early state in the presidential primary process, since the 2018 midterm elections. A registered Democrat, Bloomberg spent more than $100 million to help the party regain control of the House from the GOP.
“With very little help from Washington, the U.S. has cut carbon emissions more than any other large nation over the past decade – and we are already halfway to our Paris goal,” Bloomberg wrote in an op-ed this week for the Des Moines Register ahead of his visit. “The reason is that cities, states, businesses and communities all recognize that transitioning to cleaner and more efficient energy systems is in their own self-interest. That is a fact that the White House has yet to grasp."
Bloomberg recently told the Associated Press that he will decide on whether to run against Trump in 2020 by February 2019. He visited New Hampshire, another key primary state, last October.
The billionaire said the documentary’s title, “Paris to Pittsburgh,” is a play on Trump’s remark explaining his decision to withdraw from the climate accords in 2017.
Trump said he was “elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris.”