The 2020 U.S. elections race carries no shortage of amazement and timidity at both ends of American domestic politics. The Republicans have no candidate other than Trump, and the Democrats cannot decide on a candidate to challenge Trump with. The number of candidates on the Democratic side is over 15. Billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg, who served as mayor of New York for three terms, signaled that he would enter the race. Bloomberg previously said he would donate $100 million to the Democrats to defeat Trump. Now he throws his hat into the ring.
Bloomberg, who has a reputation for being a businessman obsessed with Trump, is the second billionaire after Tom Steyer among Democratic candidates. Bloomberg's entry as a contender is linked to the fact that Joe Biden's campaign did not show any signs of gaining momentum for the Democrats. Not only that, of course, the fact that Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, who are at odds with the mainstream or centrist wing of the Democratic Party, seized the top spots in the nomination race. Bloomberg entered the race on the grounds that Biden's low polling numbers increased Warren and Sanders' chances.
The new generation of Democrat politicians riled against Bloomberg entering the race. These politicians, belonging to the ”progressive” and ”socialist” wing of the party, are uncomfortable with the patronage relationship between money and politics. That's why they say that "Bloomberg should stay at home and pay his taxes." The Democratic Party should be the party of the people, not the elite, but this issue is of course disturbing the party's leading lobbying team.
A report published earlier this year stressed that the wealth of the wealthiest 400 Americans, which corresponds to 0,00025 percent of the U.S. population, is more than the wealth of the bottom 150 million adults, which account for 60 percent of the country. The report said that the share of the lowest 60 percent of the country's wealth gradually decreased about 2 percent. The new generation of politicians who oppose lobbying politics are looking for ways to overcome this imbalance in the distribution of wealth. This issue, which is a reflection of an ideological divide within the party, has an impact on the nomination race where candidates differ in their class lines.
Warren’s and Sanders' run in the nomination race not only worries the mainstream wing of the Democratic Party, but also the centrist wings of the Republican Party. So far, mainstream leaders of the two parties have been dealing with "established Washington politics." Trump's election in 2016 was in a way the result of a reaction to the established order or foreign policy elites. The mainstream Republicans at the U.S. Congress are trying to maintain the deep-seated politics of Washington with minimal damage by restraining Trump. So they only tolerate Trump being populist on a superficial level.
Senator Mitt Romney, known for his opposition against Trump, says Republicans hold on to Trump because of the fear created by Democratic candidates such as Elizabeth Warren. According to Romney, Trump is not the best option for Republicans, and even many Republicans don't even like him. However, they refrain from criticizing Trump in fear of a possible Warren election win or the possibility of Democrats winning a majority in the Senate. In other words, Republicans are stuck with Trump.
Democrats, on the other hand, do not want to lose the support of non-White voters. Warren and Sanders appeal to lower-income voters, the middle class, Blacks and Hispanics. Warren and Sanders' health insurance for all and the rhetoric of increasing taxes on the wealthy are causing panic in financial circles that support the party. Warren and Sanders have long been personae non gratae for the financial community. To sum up, the Democrats are in two minds, they want to take Trump down, but they are confused about what candidate they will pick.
