Michael Bloomberg Backlash: 'Black And Latino Males' Don't Know How To 'Behave In The Workplace'
Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City campaigning to take down President Trump in November, is being held to account for past comments just as he begins rising in the polls thanks in large part to the roll-out of an aggressive ad campaign schedule.
After stumbling to address resurfaced video last week regarding the NYPD’s “stop-and-frisk” policy in 2015 and redlining in 2008, a 2011 interview featuring the billionaire’s comments on "Black and Latino males" who, according to him, don't know how to "behave in the workplace" is now sparking outrage.
In the 2011 interview with PBS, Bloomberg was discussing his $127 million Young Men's Initiative plan, which was aimed at reducing economic disparities for Black and Latino men. The billionaire told interviewer Jeffrey Brown: "There's this enormous cohort of Black and Latino males, age, let's say, 16 to 25, that don't have jobs, don't have any prospects, don't know how to find jobs, don't know what their skill sets are, [and] don't know how to behave in the workplace where they have to work collaboratively and collectively."
Bloomberg also claimed, "Blacks and Latinos score terribly in school testing compared to whites and Asians" and reiterated his crime talking points, "If you look at where crime takes place, it's in minority neighborhoods. If you look at who the victims and the perpetrators are, it's virtually all minorities. This is something that has gone on for a long time."
These comments are reminiscent of the remarks given in his 2015 speech from the Aspen Institute, "You can just take a description, Xerox it, and pass it out to all the cops. They are male, minorities, 16-25. That's true in New York, that's true in virtually every city."
See the 2011 interview below:
His latest apology came on February 11 after the audio from Aspen speech leaked. Bloomberg wrote on Twitter, “I have apologized for taking too long to understand the impact of stop and frisk on Black and Latino communities. I inherited stop and frisk. In an effort to stop gun violence, it was overused. I cut it back by 95%. I should have cut it back sooner."
Despite the controversy surrounding his previous remarks, Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), a gun control activist whose son, Jordan Davis, was shot and killed in 2012, endorsed Bloomberg. February 16 would have been Jordan’s 25th birthday.
Bloomberg has also been endorsed by Washington Mayor Muriel E. Bowser; Columbia, S.C., Mayor Steve Benjamin; San Francisco Mayor London Breed; Little Rock, Ark., Mayor Frank Scott Jr.; and Shreveport, La., Mayor Adrian Perkins.
Bloomberg has reportedly spent nearly $500 million on his presidential campaign thus far and just qualified to participate in the next Democratic debate to be held February 19 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
However, his name will not be on the ballot for the Nevada caucuses on February 22 or the South Carolina primary on February 29. The 78-year-old candidate is said to be putting all his efforts behind sweeping Super Tuesday on March 3 and he has reportedly already spent $126 million on ads.
A Quinnipiac poll from February 10 had Bloomberg with 22 percent of Black support and Biden still leading with 27 percent.
The Democratic candidates will be fighting for 1,357 pledged delegates on March 3 and it takes 1,991 to secure the party nomination.
