On the day of the Iowa Caucuses, Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg charted a jet to travel to various places in California. According to the Associated Press, the billionaire stopped at a coffee shop in Sacramento, held an outdoor rally in Fresno, and then made his way to Compton to kick off a nationwide bus tour featuring various surrogates and supporters.
"Today, there's something going on in Iowa I heard, something like that," Bloomberg told the crowd in Compton. "That's where all the other Democratic candidates are. In fact, they've spent virtually all of the past few months in Iowa and other early primary states and almost no time in California. But 1 in every 9 delegates who will decide the Democratic nomination are here in California."
Bloomberg made a late entrance in the race for the Democratic nomination and has chosen to focus his campaign efforts on Super Tuesday when California and 13 other states will choose a Democratic nominee for president on Mar. 3.
At his stop in Sacramento on Monday, the candidate said, "I'm not running against the other Democratic candidates. I'm running against Donald Trump." The billionaire is self-funding his presidential campaign and spent more than $180 million in his first month after declaring his candidacy.
The DNC was recently criticized for changing the qualification criteria for candidates to appear in its upcoming presidential debates. The change removed the requirement for candidates to obtain donations from hundreds of thousands of individuals, a requirement that would have kept Michael Bloomberg off the stage.
Bloomberg has been accused of attempting to buy the Democratic presidential nomination. In an interview last month, the candidate wouldn't rule out spending over one billion dollars in his effort to defeat President Trump in 2020.
.@MikeBloomberg: "Today there's something going on in Iowa I heard, something like that." #IowaCaucuses pic.twitter.com/gFX1Vfi10T
— The Hill (@thehill) February 4, 2020