Michael Bloomberg says he apologized for 'stop and frisk' now because nobody asked him earlier

CBS's Gayle King sat down with newly minted Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg in Colorado on Thursday, and she asked him why he decided to enter the race so late. "I looked at our national government getting worse," and he thought "we can't have four more years" President Trump, who "doesn't have the temperament or the ethics or the intellect to do the job," Bloomberg said in the interview, broadcast Friday morning. "And then I watched all the candidates. And I just thought to myself, 'Donald Trump would eat 'em up.'" Really? King asked. "Let me rephrase it," he said. "I think that I would do the best job of competing with him and beating him."

King asked Bloomberg about his recent apology for the "stop and frisk" policy he pursued as New York City mayor, now widely criticized as racist and counterproductively punitive. "Some people are suspicious of the timing of your apology," she said. "Well, nobody asked me about it until I started running for president," he said. "So come on." King pressed: "You just didn't mention it until now?" Bloomberg said he can't change the past, but it was a mistake, "I'm sorry. I apologize. Let's go fight the NRA."

Bloomberg, asked about being an old, white billionaire in an increasingly old, white Democratic field, said if people want to run, they should, "but don't complain to me that you're not in the race." "So you're saying if you want diversity then get in?" King asked. Bloomberg thanked her: "That is exactly a good way to phrase it. Thank you very much."

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King asked Bloomberg if he thinks the House should impeach Trump. "I was, before, opposed to it, but after looking at all the evidence, I think yes," he said. "Sad, but yes." And the biggest thing that troubles him about Trump? she asked. "He does not seem to understand that he is an elected official whose job it is to work for the public rather than for himself," Bloomberg replied. Peter Weber