Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg has opened a Tennessee campaign headquarters in downtown Nashville. The former mayor of New York visited Thursday to host a kick-off event.
During his visit to Tennessee, Michael Bloomberg started his day in Memphis for the unveiling of his health care policy proposal.
In the afternoon he went to Nashville, where he had coffee with Mayor John Cooper before opening his Tennessee campaign headquarters and hosting a kick-off party.
During the rally, Bloomberg lamented that most of the Democratic presidential candidates have overlooked Tennessee.
“It’s a long since a Democrat made Tennessee — the state of Tennessee — a priority and that’s wrong for this country,” Bloomberg said.
He vowed to make the state a priority.
Bloomberg is just the third Democratic candidate to hire paid staff in Tennessee, many of whom are political veterans.
“I think we can win this election,” Bloomberg said. “I think that we can explain to the middle-of-the-road people that we can have change that is evolutionary rather than revolutionary.”
.@brotherjones_ and a few others got kicked out of the event. They were pressing Bloomberg on the Green New Deal.
Bloomberg said he'd talk to them later. pic.twitter.com/TcOTE2wE9p
— Sergio Martínez-Beltrán (@SergioMarBel) December 20, 2019
At one point during his speech, Bloomberg was interrupted by protestors who questioned him about his opposition to Medicare for All.
Congressional Democratic candidate Justin Jones also pressed him on his opposition to the Green New Deal environmental plan.
Bloomberg pushed back.
“OK. I hear you. But just stop it,” Bloomberg told Jones from the stage. “I’m doing more on the climate than you’ve ever dreamed of. I’ve put a fortune into this thing and we are still doing it.”
The protestors were later kicked out of the event.
Meanwhile, the New York billionaire said he is the only candidate who can beat President Trump. He’s relying on his proposals and own money to do so, he says.