DUBUQUE, Iowa — Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, who has rallied against the outsized political influence of billionaires from the outset of his upstart campaign, said Sunday that he would welcome the chance to run against two of them in the fall.
Sanders was asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” about former New York mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who is reportedly mulling an independent White House bid. Both Bloomberg and Republican front-runner Donald Trump are billionaire businessmen.
“My reaction is, if Donald Trump wins and Mr. Bloomberg gets in, you’re going to have two multibillionaires running for president of the United States against me,” Sanders told host Chuck Todd. “And I think the American people do not want to see our nation move toward an oligarchy, where billionaires control the political process. I think we’ll win that election.”
Sanders would first have to get past Hillary Clinton in the contest for the Democratic nomination before such a race could take shape.
The Vermont senator appeared on “Meet the Press” from Iowa, where he had a full day of campaign events and is locked in a tight race with the former secretary of state.
On Sunday, Clinton and Republican Marco Rubio received potential boosts to their presidential bids in Iowa by winning the endorsements of the Des Moines Register, the dominant newspaper in the state.
“No other candidate can match the depth or breadth of her knowledge and experience,” the Register’s editorial said of Clinton. Hearing about the endorsement on a campaign stop in Davenport, the former senator said: “I'm very pleased.”
The editorial said “Rubio has the potential to chart a new direction for the party, and perhaps the nation, with his message of restoring the American dream.” On “Fox News Sunday,” the Florida senator called the newspaper’s backing an affirmation that he’s running a “serious campaign about solving the problems before this country.”
Clinton and Sanders have both looked to past Iowa caucuses for lessons in running their current campaigns, but they have drawn different conclusions.
To Sanders, President Obama’s improbable victory in Iowa in 2008 was a testament to the power of an inspirational underdog. To Clinton, Obama’s win over her proved the importance of a robust and refined political apparatus.
Sanders has undeniable energy heading into the final week of campaigning in Iowa.
He is running on a pledge of political revolution, one that builds on what he sees as the country’s great moments of change: the rise of trade unions, the legalization of gay marriage, and yes, Obama’s unexpected victory in the 2008 Iowa caucuses.
“Eight years ago, all over this country people said, ‘An African-American becoming president of the United States, you’re nuts, that can’t happen, too much racism in America,’ ” Sanders said during a campaign stop Saturday. “ ‘And you think he’s going to win in a very white state? Ain’t going to happen.’ You made it happen. You made history.”
Clinton has a massive field operation in Iowa that has been on the ground for nearly a year.
She believes Democrats are looking less for another big moment of change and more for a steady hand who can build on Obama’s progress but perhaps be more adept at managing Washington’s grinding gridlock.
“I believe I have the experience, the judgment, and the vision to get us back moving, further than we got with President Obama,” Clinton said Sunday during an event in Marion.