Bloomberg would sell his company if elected US president, adviser says
Michael Bloomberg would sell his financial information and media company if he's elected US president in an effort to be "180 degrees away from where Donald Trump is on these issues," an adviser to his campaign said Tuesday, CNN reported.
The comments come amid a barrage of attacks on Bloomberg from his Democratic rivals over how he's used the vast fortune he built through Bloomberg LP into a barrage of breathless advertising and an enormous campaign staff in the 2020 presidential race.
"There will be no confusion about any of his financial holdings blurring the line between public service and personal profiteering," Bloomberg campaign adviser Tim O'Brien told CNN's Christine Amanpour Tuesday.
"We will be 180 degrees away from where Donald Trump is on these issues because Donald Trump is a walking financial conflict of interest," he added.
O'Brien also said Tuesday that, unlike Trump, Bloomberg will release his tax returns if he's elected.
"Donald Trump has broken a tradition that's gone back to every president dating to Gerald Ford which is voluntary releasing their tax returns so American voters know the President of the United States isn't financially compromised by domestic forces," he said, "and -- I think more importantly in the moment we're in now -- foreign governments or foreign influencers who make the President more concerned about his wallet than about sound and ethical public policy making."