Retired Journalist Sam Donaldson Ditches Objectivity, Endorses Bloomberg
Retired journalist Sam Donaldson is endorsing the candidacy of Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
In an ad on Twitter, Donaldson, a former ABC journalist who has never made a public endorsement before, said President Donald Trump “is a threat to our country. He doesn’t understand the Constitution,. He doesn’t seem to care about a lot of people. Donald Trump doesn’t understand the world. I’ve never seen any presidential campaign that I think was as important as this one is because we never had the country in the hands of someone who I think is not qualified to be president.”
The ad closes with a line aimed at promoting Bloomberg’s electability, a significant message at a time when the campaign of former Vice President Joe Biden’s image of electability has been tarnished by lackluster finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire
“Bloomberg can beat Trump,” Donaldson, 85, said.
Legendary journalist Sam Donaldson knows Mike has what it takes to take on Trump and beat him. Sam covered campaigns for 52 years, and this is the first time he’s endorsed anyone. Welcome to #TeamBloomberg! pic.twitter.com/R24zUXXxRU
— Team Bloomberg (@Mike2020) February 15, 2020
Donaldson’s partisan foray dismayed some journalists.
Never thought I’d see this. https://t.co/MlnARdwCbC
— Brit Hume (@brithume) February 15, 2020
I was fully aware that I was one of the few conservatives in network TV news (yes, there were a few.) But I truly believe we need solid journalism to hold government accountable to the people. Sam Donaldson just slammed the entire 5th estate by endorsing a politician in an ad.
— Emily Miller (@emilymiller) February 16, 2020
Others downplayed Donaldson’s comments.
Who on Earth’s vote would be swayed by Sam Donaldson?! (I actually thought he was dead)
— GoAskAlice (@GoAskAlice67) February 16, 2020
Donaldson’s disdain for Trump is nothing new. In October, he trashed Trump and his followers, according to Newsweek.
“The Trump rallies are his strong supporters – -I mean, ‘lock her up,’ I mean, all the things he says, all the vicious, mean things he says, they love it. There are these people in this country. They are good Americans otherwise. They’ll probably give you the shirt off their back, they’ll help you if you need it, but they have this fixation,” he said.
“They want to return this country to the white, Christian country that they believe it should be again. They don’t want the diversity, and they follow him for this, but they’re not the country. We are a diverse people, we are good and strong because of that,” Donaldson said then.
In an opinion piece published Friday on CNN Donaldson praised Bloomberg by saying that, “After the September 11 attacks, he helped New York City recover from the darkest days in its history.”
At the time of the attacks, Rudy Giuliani was the mayor of New York City. Bloomberg became mayor in 2002 and handled the rebuilding effort.
Donaldson wrote that beating Trump “is an imperative for all of us, if we are to remain a nation of laws, rooted in the Constitution, dedicated to freedom and shared community that has made America the envy of the world.”
Donaldson made the argument that Bloomberg’s wealth is an asset to beating Trump.
“Bloomberg’s ability to finance his own campaign means he can compete aggressively against Trump’s massive political machine, which has been stockpiling money and organizing supporters since Trump’s first day in office,” Donaldson wrote.
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