Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday he has no plans for a presidential run in 2020 and laughed off a question on whether he would join an Oprah Winfrey campaign.
Bloomberg, who was speculated to run for president in 2008 and 2016, told MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle that although he technically meets all the requirements to run for president, he does not intend to go through with it.
Ruhle said that in past conversations he had told her no one would vote for someone who is divorced or a billionaire, but that “people have shown us they’re willing to go outside the box.”
Bloomberg pushed back and asked what the question was, prompting Rhule to ask him if he could run now for president.
"Well I suppose you could," Bloomberg said. "You have to be 35 years old, I’m older than that. You have to be a citizen, I’m a citizen. You have to be born in America, I was. But I have no plans to run for president."
Would Michael Bloomberg consider running for office with Oprah?
Here's what he told @SRuhle. pic.twitter.com/WH0ac2R7s5— MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 11, 2018
Ruhle led up to her question by asking if Bloomberg would be willing to run with entertainment personality Winfrey, who stirred 2020 talk with her Golden Globe Awards ceremony speech on Sunday night.
Bloomberg laughed off the question and responded by saying, “Would we do it alphabetically, I just want to make sure.”
Winfrey’s friends have said she is unlikely to run for office. President Trump also expressed doubts she would run, but predicted he would beat her if she did.
“I'll beat Oprah," he said told reporters at the White House Tuesday. "Oprah will be a lot of fun."