Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg used humor as his weapon on Thursday when asked about whether he would run for president in 2020.
During an interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle, Bloomberg joked about how he could technically run for president since he met all the legal criteria, but he currently has "no plans to run for president." Bloomberg, 73, was widely reported to have considered a presidential run in 2008 and 2016.
"You and I have talked in the past and you’ve always said, ‘not me–people aren’t going to vote for a guy who’s divorced, who’s Jewish, who’s a billionaire,’" Ruhle said. "People have now shown us they’re willing to go outside the box."
"Well okay," Bloomberg said. "What’s the question?"
"Could you run now Mike?" Ruhle asked.
"Well I suppose you could," Bloomberg said. "You have to be 35 years old, I’m older than that. You have to be a citizen, I’m a citizen. You have to be born in America, I was. But I have no plans to run for president."
Earlier, Ruhle asked the Bloomberg CEO if he would be willing to be the running mate to TV personality Oprah Winfrey who has been rumored to be considering a run for the White House after her Golden Globes speech.
"Could you see yourself maybe running for office with Oprah?" Ruhle asked.
"Would we do it alphabetically, I just want to make sure," Bloomberg responded, laughing.