Confused by the Mike Bloomberg campaign? Maybe that’s the point

They say every dog has his day — is today Mike Bloomberg’s?

The former New York mayor has surged to third place in a national poll, overtaking Elizabeth Warren, and earned the endorsement of yet another mayor: DC’s Muriel Bowser. After spending over $250 million on political advertising, it looks like money can buy you love.

Yet this month, Bloomberg has also been the source of consternation online. His campaign posted this short clip of the former mayor, also a former anti-sugar crusader, eating Big Gay Ice Cream:

😍🏳️‍🌈🍦 @biggayicecream pic.twitter.com/ftKPL9oRsy

— Team Bloomberg (@Mike2020) January 29, 2020

Then there’s his plan for African Americans, which seems to be largely pegged on the HBO series Watchmen.

More baffling though was the footage of Bloomberg shaking a dog’s face to greet it on Monday:

While campaigning in Burlington, Vermont yesterday, Fmr. Mayor Michael Bloomberg met a dog. #Campaign2020 pic.twitter.com/AKAj8nMZhv

— Nicole Sganga (@NicoleSganga) January 28, 2020

Suspiciously soon after this clip went viral, Bloomberg’s team released an ad showing various mutts in New York dog parks ‘declaring their support’ for the mayor.

Dog people get me. Dogs too. #DogsFurMike pic.twitter.com/gGejm10vZQ

— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) January 29, 2020

Cockburn has questions. Was the dog ad shot and cut in the hours immediately after the face-shaking incident? Or was the clip taped in advance of any dog-related controversy? Perhaps it’s more sinister, and Bloomberg shook the dog’s face to generate buzz for his forthcoming ad. At this point, who can really say?

Maybe Bloomberg has been cribbing notes from his old pal Boris — who discovered making people cringe or enraging them was his most effective way of generating social media attention in the run-up to the UK election. The very unusual tweets during the last Democratic debate are consistent with that theory:

Test your political knowledge:
SPOT THE MEATBALL THAT LOOKS LIKE MIKE. pic.twitter.com/CkzdgwpzdI

— Team Bloomberg (@Mike2020) January 15, 2020

In lieu of an inaugural address, Mike plans on singing “Shallow” with Lady Gaga. #BloombergFacts #DemDebate

— Team Bloomberg (@Mike2020) January 15, 2020

In an email to supporters prior to the debate, the Mike 2020 team wrote:

‘The debate is tonight. And since Mike isn’t taking donations, he won’t be on stage. But we’ll be watching and tweeting stuff. Fun stuff. The very best stuff. Some say it’s the best stuff in the world. Join us on the Team Bloomberg 2020 Twitter account if you’d like to follow along. We’d love for you to be a part of the fun.’

Such efforts certainly seem to have had a greater impact reaching the online crowd than the Bloomberg ads Cockburn keeps seeing on CNN when he’s sat in the departure lounge at Dulles.

What more unusual japes has Mike got up his sleeves? He has endless supplies of cash and cringe — Cockburn can’t wait to find out.