Bloomberg to endorse Clinton, speak at Democratic convention

Michael Bloomberg, who was elected mayor of New York City as a Republican, will speak this week at the Democratic National Convention to endorse Hillary Clinton for president.

Bloomberg’s spokesman Marc LaVorgna said Bloomberg will make the endorsement speech Wednesday night at the convention, which begins Monday in Philadelphia.

Bloomberg switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican to make his successful 2001 run for mayor. The billionaire businessman, who served three terms, later became an independent and a leading advocate for gun control.

A senior adviser to the former mayor told The New York Times Sunday that Bloomberg would vouch for Clinton “from the perspective of a business leader and an independent.”

Noting that he has supported candidates on both sides of the aisle, Howard Wolfson told the paper that “this week in Philadelphia, he will make a strong case that the clear choice in this election is Hillary Clinton.”

According to the paper, this is “an unexpected move” by Bloomberg, but one that “reflects [his] increasing dismay about the rise of Donald J. Trump and a determination to see that the Republican nominee is defeated.”

Wolfson told the Times that the Clinton campaign had contacted Bloomberg and asked him to speak at the convention, to which he agreed after mulling it over.

Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri said Bloomberg would “bring a unique and important voice that lays out the choice in this election.”

Earlier in the campaign, the media mogul opted against running as a third-party candidate for fear it might siphon away votes from Clinton and help elect Trump.

Bloomberg has been sharply critical of Trump, and in particular of his fellow New Yorker’s inflammatory rhetoric on immigration.