NO, THANKS

Team Bernie Says It’s a ‘Hard No’ on Sanders Taking Bloomberg’s Money in General Election

A Bloomberg adviser quickly shot back that it wouldn’t be “prudent” for the billionaire former mayor to “spend on behalf of someone who didn’t want it.”

An adviser to Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said it’s a “hard no” that the Vermont senator would accept money from Mike Bloomberg for the general election if he were to win the Democratic nomination. While Sanders himself has repeatedly vowed to take on the “billionaire class,” he had declined to answer directly recently whether he’d accept help from Bloomberg. But his closest adviser, Jeff Weaver, told reporters late Tuesday that there’s no chance Sanders would take campaign funds from the billionaire if he goes on to clinch the nomination. 

“Bernie has said he’s going to fund his presidential campaign with small-dollar contributions and I think we can do that. I think we can raise over a billion dollars in small-dollar contributions,” Weaver was quoted as saying by NBC News. Bloomberg’s camp quickly shot back to say the offer is off the table anyway. “I don’t think it would be prudent to spend on behalf of somebody who didn’t want it,” Bloomberg adviser Howard Wolfson told NBC. “I think everyone else has said they want the help, including Elizabeth Warren. If Elizabeth Warren is the nominee, we will do everything we can to help her. Sanders is the one candidate who said he didn't want the help.”