title:  Trump’s Billionaire Neighbor Could Enter Race, And Split The Vote For A Trump Win
text: A fellow multi-billionaire from New York and neighbor to none other than Donald Trump has already laid the groundwork for entering into the 2016 presidential race. That person is Michael Bloomberg   and this time, he s not only flirting with the possibility, but he s also considering throwing in $1 billion of his own money to make it happen. While that may be a lot of dough for the Donald (a sizeable percentage at least) for Bloomberg, it s practically nothing.The former Mayor of New York is no stranger to politics, either, having served in the position for 11 years, and he s worth an estimated $37.2 billion. That makes him the 12th richest person in the world today, according to Forbes. If anyone could make a dent in the race, it s him.He would have to run as an independent, for sure, and while the chances of him winning would be slim to none taking that path, here s what s more important: Bloomberg entering the race would be a straight-up disaster for Democrats, to say the least. And, it makes you start to think along these terms; is a billionaire going to buy the presidency this go around, for a fellow New York billionaire?Mr. Bloomberg says he would be in it to win it, but let s look at the numbers: The Washington Examiner did a poll already on this and had Trump winning in a three-way race if Clinton gets the nomination. Trump would receive around 37 percent of the vote to Clinton s 36 percent while Bloomberg would only tally 13 percent. While it s possible there could still be a Clinton win within the margin of error, it opens up a path for a Trump win, period. Just giving Trump a possible win is enough to make this scary.The elections department at the Huffington Post has a vast array of polls pitting Clinton against Trump, going back months. Guess what, Clinton has won in a head to head matchup against the Donald in 23 out of the last 28 conducted. That s an overwhelming amount. It s safe the say that having an independent of Bloomberg s stature running is something Democrats would rather end up avoiding.Why Bloomberg thinks he would have a chance in this thing, other than to hand the presidency over to the GOP is beyond us. But   according to several sources in his camp, he s apparently hoping that Bernie Sanders takes some key early states, at which case he could step in around an early March time frame. If Bernie takes momentum away from Clinton, Bloomberg thinks he has a chance. Here s what that tells us: Bloomberg could take even more votes away from the Democratic Party   he thinks anyways   than he would from the Republican Party were Sanders to win the nomination. That doesn t look good, either.His record backs that up, too: he s pro-gun control, pro-abortion, recognizes climate control is a huge problem, is for immigration reform; in practically every social view he leans to the left. The only thing that hurts him with Democrats is the fact that he has close ties to Wall Street and has a lot of business views that aren t exactly great for poor people.Even Trump wouldn t mind Bloomberg jumping in. The New York Times even made it the title of their latest article announcing the news: Donald Trump Would  Love  to See Michael Bloomberg Run. I would love to see Michael run   I would love the competition. I d love to see what would happen. (We run) different kinds of business, it s a very different kind of business, but I would say that if he ran, I d be very happy about it. He s not the only one either who sees Bloomberg running as a gold mine for Trump. Alan Patricof, a financier and longtime donor to the Clintons, said it would be a  terrible thing  for the Democratic Party if the former Mayor decides to run as an independent. If it was President Trump or President Bloomberg, I d certainly rather have President Bloomberg. But, it certainly can t help the Democrats. Mr. Patricof might prefer Bloomberg, but that doesn t mean Bloomberg would come out ahead. Ari Fleischer, a former White House Press Secretary for President George W. Bush says this would be a godsend for his party. Bloomberg s entry into the race would be a dream come true for Republicans. He would draw mostly from the Democratic column.  I hope he runs. If there s one thing we know, Bloomberg is no idiot. If he enters the race, he must know he d only be doing a favor for Trump. And, that on the face of it, doesn t make him an enemy of Donald Trump. If anything, it would make them best friends, no matter what they d like voters to think of their relationship to one another.Featured image via Wikipedia