New York Magazine - USA (2020-03-02)

march2–15, 2020 | newyork 25

you’reinJeffreyEpstein’slittleblackbook?,” oneyells.
“Timeout,timeout,” exclaimsBloomberg,immediatelyfilling
withthepephethoughthe’d get fromtheenergy ball.“Folks,No. 1,
theanswertoyourquestionis I havenoidea.Andif youstopthis,
I willtalktoyououtside.”
“You’rea sellout!,” they scream.
“Thankyouformakingmefeellike I wasinNewYorkCity,”he
respondsdrily.
Byideologyandtemperament,Bloombergis a meritocrat withno
timeforthosewhomightwastehis.Alibertarianwithstraight
brownhairtohisbuttandtheonly–in–RhodeIslandnameof Elijah
Gizzarellitellsmehestayedintheauditoriumtomeet Bloomberg
afterhisspeech.“I said,‘Yousaidyou’d talktousafterward,andwe’d
liketotake youuponthat,’ ” saysGizzarelli.“He said,‘Well,youcan’t
talktoeveryone,’andturnedaway.”
Bloomberghasmostlykepthiscoolduringhiscandidacy—

“I spoketohim” aroundearlyFebruary,saysKenChenault,thefor-

merheadofAmericanExpress,“heis encouragedbythereaction

he’s getting,thoughhealsoknowsit’s goingtobea toughchal-

lenge”—buthelovesa jauntycomeback.Andthoughhishumorat

thedebatescameacrosslessasself-deprecatingthandeprecatingof

allhumanity, hecanbequitefunny whenhe’s bitchy. Fromthe

beginning,Sheekey andhisothertopaidesadvisedhimto make this

anasset,toattackTrumpheadon,sincetradingdirect insultswith

thepresidentgivestheimpressionthatthey aretheonlytwocandi-

dates.Butit’s alsobecausefromthebeginningofhiscampaign,he’s

knownif hewentafterotherDemocraticcontendershard,they

mightkillhim.

A friendsaysBloomberg’s deepest self-image, evenat 78yearsold,

is of himselfinhismid-20s,inthe1960s,whenhewasthrustamong

theblue-collarboorsofWallStreet way beforetheGordonsfrom

Grotonshowedup.Hewasthemiddle-classsonofa dairy farm’s

Bloomberg

campaign

headquarters in

New York.

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