Michael Bloomberg may consider having Hillary Clinton as his running mate...

Hillary Clinton promoting a book. CNBC/Getty.

Michael Bloomberg may consider having Hillary Clinton as his running mate. MSNBC. Matt Drudge reports that internal polling for the Bloomberg campaign suggests that the pairing is popular and also claims that Bloomberg would change his residence to Colorado or Florida as two candidates from New York State might not be constitutionally allowed. Bloomberg's campaign didn't confirm the rumor and neither did Hillary Clinton's spokespeople. Clinton has denied wanting to run in the past, even in the VP role but she has been outspoken since losing in 2016, often criticizing President Trump and apparent Democrat frontrunner Bernie Sanders. 

My Comment:

Talk about a nightmare scenario. I despise Hillary Clinton. Not anywhere near as much as I despise Michael Bloomberg, but the two of them working together? That's downright terrifying. Combining Clinton's asinine and dangerous foreign policy with Bloomberg's war on guns? I don't see how America survives even a single term of that presidency.

Is it true though? Matt Drudge is many things, not all of them good, but he has broken big stories before. He was the one that broke the Monica Lewinsky affair of course. I think he probably is right that this is a thing that could be happening. 

What's the gain for Bloomberg? Having Clinton on the ticket helps with his neo-liberal credentials and may even bring some women on board that are excited for a female VP. Clinton's got name recognition and there are plenty of people that voted for her that still like her. I also think it would help with the critics of Bloomberg that say he's still basically a Republican (these people are delusional by the way) as bringing on what has essentially been the leader of the party during the last election cycle would blunt that criticism. 

For Clinton though? I think more than anything else she would love to be one heartbeat away from being President. If this somehow happens I would hope that Bloomberg has an insurance policy in case he "mysteriously" has a heart attack or something. 

Plus Clinton wants revenge. Not just on President Trump, who humiliated her in 2016, but against Bernie Sanders as well. She does not want Sanders to take control of her party (and I do think she views the party as hers personally) and she hates that Sanders had the gall to criticize her in the 2016 primary cycle, as mild and as toothless as that criticism was. 

Is it really a smart move though? I can't think of anything that would alienate Bernie Sanders supporters more. They already hate Bloomberg for being a billionaire that's buying his way to the top of the polls and hate his policies. Plus the Sanders crowd always believed, correctly in my opinion, that Clinton stole the nomination from Sanders. If this ends up being the 2020 ticket I can't see many Bernie Sanders supporters turning out for it and I fully expect there to be violence at the Milwaukee convention. 

I also can't think of a move that would motivate turnout for Republicans more. Hillary Clinton has always been one of the most hated politicians for Republicans and to see her run again would get people out to the polls. The Republicans are already fairly fired up due to impeachment and the fact that President Trump is very popular among his base. 

Still, I do fear this ticket, and not only because of how bad a Bloomberg/Clinton presidency would be. Though this ticket would obviously alienate the Sanders wing of the party, it could be that the ticket would no longer need them. Bloomberg's making a play for the center, which the Democrats have consistently ignored since 2015. Doing so might peel off independents from President Trump, which could be enough to cause him to lose. 

All that being said, all of this is speculation. I don't think Bloomberg even gets close to being the candidate in 2020. Sanders has most of the momentum and it looks like Pete Buttgeig is taking over the "allegedly moderate" lane as well. Plus there is the corpse of Joe Biden's campaign that will probably stick around for a while longer, sucking up delegates and votes from Bloomberg, who hasn't gotten anything in the early states at all. And even if Bloomberg does become the candidate, I still say that it's way more likely he loses than wins, if for no other reason than the massive powers of incumbency and a good economy.