According to a report published by political commentator Matt Drudge, billionaire presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg is considering former First Lady and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, as his running mate. This move was considered after a positive internal polling about the potential Bloomberg-Clinton pairing, the report added.
Why Hillary Clinton?
The Drudge Report cited sources close to the Bloomberg campaign while reporting that Bloomberg is considering Hillary Clinton as his vice-president. He is also considering to change his official residence from New York to Colorado or Florida. This is because, according to the 12th amendment to the US constitution, presidential and vice presidential candidates shall not be inhabitants of the same state.
How true is this claim?
A Bloomberg campaign aid told CNBC: "We are focused on the primary and the debate, not VP speculation", down-playing the revelations but not denying it altogether. When asked by the talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, whether she would consider running for Vice-President in the 2020 elections, Clinton replied: "I never say never because I believe in serving my country, but it's never going to happen", she said. "But no, probably no", she added. However, a source close to Clinton told Fox News that "she wants back in".
Hillary Clinton's credentials
Having served as the First Lady of The United States (FLOTUS) from 1993-2001, Hillary served as New York senator from 2001-2009, before serving as the Secretary of State under Obama administration, from 2009-2013. She ran for president in 2016, but lost to the US President Donald Trump.
It would be tough to imagine someone with such a sterling career to accept the VP ticket though. Clinton would have been the president had it not been for the electoral college system. Sceptics also doubt if she would be able to drive policy in any meaningful way as a VP.
Michael Bloomberg's campaign
The billionaire politician has pumped millions of dollars of his own fortune into his presidential campaign. Though he has skipped the four early voting states, viz. the Iowa caucuses, New Hampshire primary, Nevada caucuses and South Carolina primary; national average polls by Real Clear Politics placed him at the third spot after Vermont senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden.
