佛蒙特州参议员伯尼·桑德斯猛烈抨击前纽约市长迈克尔·布隆伯格耗资3000万美元的广告宣传活动，据报道后者正在考虑参加2020年民主党总统竞选。
桑德斯在周五发布的一份声明中抨击了这位亿万富翁:
桑德斯的声明紧随其后《纽约时报》报道彭博为一周的竞选广告花费了3000多万美元。桑德斯认为，在2020年的大选中，此举是为了绕过传统的政治进程。
桑德斯说:“迈克尔·布隆伯格或其他亿万富翁认为他们可以绕过政治进程，花数千万美元购买我们的选举，这让我很反感。”。
除了亿万富翁汤姆·施泰尔(Tom Steyer)之外，2019年花在广告宣传上的巨款远远超过每位民主党候选人。小山报道称，彭博的广告宣传是所有候选人一周广告支出中最多的一次。
桑德斯说:“这只是我们入主白宫后将要改变的一个被操纵的政治体系的最新例子。”。
桑德斯在发布会上还将自己与亿万富翁候选人区分开来，强调了他2016年竞选中获得的草根支持和成长。“如果你不能为你的候选人赢得基层支持，你就没有资格竞选总统，”他说。
桑德斯宣称，这位前市长加入竞选的晚些时候的决定主要是由他能在竞选上花多少钱来决定的。他建议许多选民会看穿彭博的努力。“美国人民厌倦了亿万富翁的权力，我怀疑他们对试图购买选举的人不会有好的反应，”他说。
2019年11月20日，佐治亚州亚特兰大，民主党总统候选人参议员伯尼·桑德斯在泰勒·佩里工作室举行的民主党总统辩论中发言。
在本月早些时候爱荷华州的集会上，桑德斯还警告彭博说，美国人不会让亿万富翁“购买这次选举”他宣称，他的竞选活动将阻止亿万富翁和富有的竞选捐助者控制政治体系。“今晚我们要对迈克尔·布隆伯格和其他亿万富翁说:对不起，你不会买下这次选举，”他当时说。“你不会通过在加州媒体上花费数亿美元来购买这次选举。那些日子已经过去了。”
桑德斯的总统候选人同事伊丽莎白·沃伦参议员也参与了布隆伯格的竞选支出。这位参议员提到了她提议的财产税，该税将对净资产在5000万美元或以上的家庭征税，并指责这位前纽约市长的过度支出。“这是在我的#财产税下少缴税的一种方式。因为在沃伦政府中，他和他的亿万富翁朋友最终将不得不支付他们应得的份额，”她在推特上写道。
BERNIE SANDERS BLASTS MICHAEL BLOOMBERG'S $30 MILLION AD BLITZ, SAYING 'HE'S DISGUSTED'
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders ripped into former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's $30 million advertising campaign, as the latter is reportedly considering entering the 2020 Democratic presidential race.
In a statement released Friday, Sanders slammed the billionaire:
Sanders' statement came after The New York Times reported that Bloomberg spent over $30 million for a week's worth of campaign ads. Sanders thought the move this late in the 2020 race was an attempt to bypass the traditional political process.
"I'm disgusted by the idea that Michael Bloomberg or any other billionaire thinks they can circumvent the political process and spend tens of millions of dollars to buy our elections," Sanders said.
The massive amount of money spent on the ad campaign is significantly more than each Democratic candidate, with the exception of billionaire Tom Steyer, spent on ads in 2019. The Hillreported that Bloomberg's ad campaign is the largest amount any candidate has spent for a week of advertising.
"It's just the latest example of a rigged political system that we are going to change when we're in the White House," Sanders said.
Sanders also set himself apart from the billionaire candidate in the release, emphasizing the grassroots support and growth that his 2016 campaign had. "If you can't build grassroots support for your candidacy, you have no business running for president," he said.
Sanders declared that the former mayor's late decision to join the race is mainly informed by the amount of money he can spend on his campaign. He advised that many voters will see through Bloomberg's efforts. "The American people are sick and tired of the power of billionaires, and I suspect they won't react well to someone trying to buy an election," he said.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during the Democratic Presidential Debate at Tyler Perry Studios November 20, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia.
At an Iowa rally earlier this month, Sanders also warned Bloomberg that Americans will not let a billionaire "buy this election." He declared that his campaign would put a stop to billionaires and wealthy campaign donors from dominating the political system. "Tonight we say to Michael Bloomberg and other billionaires: sorry, you ain't going to buy this election," he said at the time. "You're not going to buy this election by spending hundreds of millions of dollars on media in California. Those days are gone."
Sanders' fellow presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren also weighed in on Bloomberg's campaign spending. Referencing her proposed wealth tax, which would place taxes on households with a net worth of $50 million or more, the senator called out the former New York mayor for his excessive spending. "That's one way to pay less under my #WealthTax. Because in a Warren administration, he and his billionaire friends would finally have to pay their fair share," she tweeted.
