Michael Bloomberg wants to be your 'boring' president

In a country bitterly divided along party lines, Michael Bloomberg is daring to be bland.

After months of hinting at a presidential run, the former New York mayor and billionaire businessman's political aide Kevin Sheekey proceeded to just keep hinting at Bloomberg 2020 when speaking with BuzzFeed News' Ben Smith on Monday. "Elections are about swings," and it's "about time we swing to boring," Sheekey said Monday in what can be interpreted as a compliment about Bloomberg's centrism.

This is the third time Bloomberg has come very, very close to running for president, with his almost campaigns always based on middle-of-the-road policies. This time around, the former Republican is leaning toward running a Democratic campaign, after throwing $80 million toward flipping the House this year and touting gun control and environmentalism. But he's also rejecting progressive economic policies and keeping the #MeToo movement at arm's length, despite the popularity of both issues among Democrats. As Smith puts it, Bloomberg would "make America boring again."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Regardless of what actually works for Democrats, Sheekey told Smith that America should "swing to boring, with someone who can rise above the fray to chart a path forward toward greater national unity and mutual understanding." In other words, the antidote to America's fiery politics is a big glass of Bloomberg-branded milk.

Read more about Bloomberg's unseasoned philosophy at BuzzFeed News.