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

Michael Bloomberg on CBS
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/CBS News)

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."

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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

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.