On Wednesday broadcast of Hugh Hewitt’s nationally syndicated radio show, MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle weighed in on the possibility former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg running for president.
Ruhle, a former employee of Bloomberg, added that if he won, she’d be open to being his press secretary.
Partial transcript as follows:
HEWITT: You know, I think the Trump killer is Michael Bloomberg. I think Joe Biden has some problems because of age and his gaffe history, but I think the Trump killer is Mike Bloomberg. But you’re in New York City. You probably follow him more closely than I do.
RUHLE: I worked for Mike for five years before I was with MSNBC.
HEWITT: Oh, I didn’t know that.
RUHLE: I was at Bloomberg TV, so I was very close with Mike then. I remain close with Mike now. Mike has spent at least ten years spending an enormous amount of money and research on running as an independent. He made it very clear a week ago that it would be a mistake for Howard Schultz to do so. Mike obviously considered a run the last time around, and he realized running as an independent would only ensure more votes for Donald Trump. So yes, in circles like New York City and Florida, where people know Mike best, they’re very enthusiastic about him. His challenge is name recognition. People outside of New York and Florida don’t really know him. And one of the problems is those people in New York and Florida are the same people who only vote in one state.
HEWITT: You know, Stephanie, my boys, whenever my wife is nagging them, called her Betsy Bloomberg. And so there are some people that think he’s kind of a scold, but I think he’s also kind of a sophisticated manager. What I really want to know is do you think he’s going to run?
RUHLE: I do think Mike is going to run.
HEWITT: Interesting.
RUHLE: But I think the fact that he was a three-term mayor, I think his extraordinarily strong stands on gun control, and Mike limiting the supersized drinks you can have may have worked in New York. Those things are a very tough sell outside of New York. The three-term mayor thing, if you look at Mike’s approval rating that last term, it was certainly significantly lower than the first two. And New Yorkers could say listen, I love Mike, I love his politics, I was happy to have him run a third term. That is a precedent that people don’t feel comfortable with on a national scale.
HEWITT: So Stephanie, if he wins and he’s the president, will you go be his press secretary?
RUHLE: I would definitely be open to it.
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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