Politics

Liberal Professor To Tucker: Bloomberg ‘Can Be A Very Surly Person,’ Not ‘Energetic Like Donald Trump’

Font Size:

University of Maryland professor Jason Nichols compared former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s charisma, or lack thereof, to that of President Donald Trump during a Monday night appearance on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”

Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Nichols began the segment by discussing how Bloomberg has managed to essentially purchase third place in the Democratic presidential primary polls without having appeared on a single ballot yet.

“He’s probably not going to go in front of the media until after Super Tuesday,” Nichols said. “He’s the winner here. He wins because he has money, a luxury that Elizabeth Warren didn’t have or that Bernie Sanders didn’t have. When they faced tough criticism, particularly when it comes to race, they had to go to the media and answer those questions. He’s avoiding everything and just making stump speeches and putting out ads.”

WATCH:

Carlson called Bloomberg’s tactics an “attack on democracy” before asking Nichols if he was “bothered” by its effectiveness. Nichols contended that while it’s “working in the short term,” eventually people will “want answers,” particularly on the issue of stop-and-frisk. (RELATED: Sam Donaldson Roasted After Shedding Journalism Hat To Make First Presidential Endorsement)

“And we also know that Bloomberg can be a very surly person,” Nichols said after naming a few other questions the former New York City mayor will have to answer. “He’s not energetic like Donald Trump, which is what I think won Donald Trump the election. It wasn’t money. It was charisma. He’s not an intellect or anything like that, but he has tons of charisma, something Bloomberg does not have, so he’s going to have to go out in front of these audiences, answer these questions, and I really don’t think it’s going to bode very well for him.”

“That’s the hope,” Carlson said. “We hope democracy kicks in at some point.”