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Michael Bloomberg Will Not Run for President in 2020

Michael Bloomberg is confident he'd beat President Trump in 2020 -- but he's not going to try.

By Chris Sommerfeldt

Michael Bloomberg is confident he'd beat President Trump in 2020 -- but he's not going to try.

After months of speculation, the former New York mayor announced Tuesday he's not launching a Democratic bid to challenge Trump in the next general election -- but boasted he would have been a great candidate if he had decided to run.

"I know what it takes to run a winning campaign, and every day when I read the news, I grow more frustrated by the incompetence in the Oval Office," the three-term mayor wrote in an editorial published on his namesake news site. "I know we can do better as a country. And I believe I would defeat Donald Trump in a general election."

However, the 77-year-old billionaire said he's "clear-eyed" about the difficulty of clinching the Democratic nomination, since 14 people have already launched campaigns and several more are rumored to be considering runs.

So, Bloomberg argued he'll do more good by staying out of the race and instead focus on using his immense wealth to help Democratic causes and subvert Trump's right-wing agenda.

"I've come to realize that I'm less interested in talking than doing," Bloomberg wrote. "And I have concluded that, for now, the best way for me to help our country is by rolling up my sleeves and continuing to get work done."

For starters, Bloomberg said he'll "expand" his support for Beyond Coal, a public advocacy campaign seeking to completely end U.S. reliance on coal-fired power plants by 2030.

Bloomberg also said he plans to launch "Beyond Carbon," an even more ambitious grassroots effort to "begin moving America as quickly as possible away from oil and gas and toward a 100 percent clean energy economy."

Moreover, Bloomberg pledged to funnel cash into efforts aiming to combat gun violence; make college and health care more affordable; combat the opioid crisis; beef up voting rights and reduce homelessness, among other initiatives.

"I hope those who have urged me to run, and to stand up for the values and principles that they hold dear, will understand that my decision was guided by one question: How can I best serve the country?" Bloomberg capped off his editorial.

(c)2019 New York Daily News

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