Rendell walks back Bloomberg remark, says he'd back Bernie
Former Gov. Ed Rendell, a close friend of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, told the New York Times over the weekend that he might back his buddy if he runs for president as an independent.
Former Gov. Ed Rendell, a close friend of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, told the New York Times over the weekend that he might back his buddy if he runs for president as an independent.
The caveat for Rendell, a longtime proponent of Hillary Clinton's bid for the presidency: He would only back Bloomberg if U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont won the Democratic nomination.
On Monday, Rendell walked that back a bit while speaking with The Inquirer.
"I like Bernie Sanders. I think he's a good guy. He's got a good heart," Rendell said from New Hampshire, where he had just delivered a speech about the national debt to a group he co-chairs with Bloomberg. "I think I would almost certainly stay with the Democratic nominee, even if he is a socialist."
Bloomberg has flirted before with national campaigns, Rendell said, but the potential of Sanders facing a Republican nominee like Donald Trump in the general election has upped the ante.
"I think there's a little more urgency because they see a path, with Bernie and Donald, that they haven't seen in the past," he said of Bloomberg's political consultants.
Rendell said Bloomberg, a billionaire, could finance his own campaign but would not run simply for the sake of vanity.
"Michael takes out a pen and writes a billion-dollar check just like you and I would write a $100 check," he said. "Michael is not going to run unless there's a path to victory."
Rendell, an unabashed supporter of Clinton, has a history of letting his candor get in the way of his candidate.
The best-known example: Rendell as Democratic National Committee chairman in 2000 said on election night that Vice President Al Gore should concede the presidential election to then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush. This came before Gore made clear his plans - and before the famous Florida recount battle got under way.
Asked Monday if he felt any push-back from Clinton's campaign for his comments to the Times, Rendell, said, "No, not really" and then stressed that he has been telling her supporters to "hang in there."
"For every poll showing Bernie winning in Iowa there have been five polls showing Hillary winning Iowa," he said. "I say: stay calm. I think Hillary can and will win, even if she does lose Iowa and New Hampshire. It just means it will be a long primary battle."
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