Michael Bloomberg didn't need a long time to digest his defeat. After having invested hundreds of millions of dollars in pure loss in the face of the dynamics created by the massive victory of Joe Biden in South Carolina, on February 29 – which was amply confirmed in the 14 States of Super Tuesday, Tuesday March 3 -, the tenth world fortune (according to Forbes) ended his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday morning. Michael Bloomberg immediately supported yesterday’s winner, former Vice President Biden.
"Three months ago I ran for president to beat Donald Trump. Today I withdraw from the race for the same reason: beating Donald Trump because it became clear to me that continuing would have made it harder to do so. ", he said in a statement. On November 20, 2019, he had indeed placed this goal at the top of his motivations, with the ambition of "Rebuild America". "I am someone who does things and solves problems, not someone who just talks, someone who is ready to face difficult fights, and to win", he added. The results of Tuesday evening, often bitter considering the sums invested, showed the limits of this ambition.
The most spectacular comeback in electoral history
In four days, the Democratic camp managed to do what the Grand Old Party was unable to do in 2015 and 2016 in the face of Donald Trump's unfriendly takeover. As of September 2015, candidates such as Scott Walker, then governor of Wisconsin, and Rick Perry, former governor of Texas, had given up by warning the other contenders against the danger represented by the too many present. These warnings had not received any response, and Donald Trump, undoubtedly underestimated, had been able to settle in the heart of the Republican primaries with a relatively small share of the voting intentions, then of the votes.
On Super Tuesday evening in early March 2016, three Conservative candidates were still vying to lead an anti-Trump camp. Senator Marco Rubio had waited for a stinging defeat in his state of Florida before giving up a fortnight later. Ohio Governor John Kasich and Texas Senator Ted Cruz then held out until early May, beating the odds of an alternative candidacy emerging against a billionaire favored by clean ballot to Republicans, who in the states give a large bonus in terms of delegates to the winner.
