As voters are casting ballots in the country's first presidential primaries, former Mayor Mike Bloomberg has been trying to attract support.
On Tuesday, he was getting a lot of attention — not all of it good.
#BloombergIsRacist was trending on Twitter. A progressive podcast host had tweeted a recording from a Colorado speaking engagement in 2015, where Bloomberg defended the practice of stop-and-frisk:
"You are arresting kids for marijuana that are all minorities. Yes, that's true. Why? Because we put all the cops in the minority neighborhoods. Yes, that's true. Why do we do it? Because that's where all the crime is. And the way you get the guns out of the kids' hands is to throw them up against the walls and frisk them," Bloomberg was heard saying in the audio.
Shortly after that, a radio interview from 2013 was also making waves:
"I think we disproportionately stop whites too much and minorities too little," Bloomberg said in a 2013 WOR Radio interview.
President Donald Trump even got into the act, tweeting that Bloomberg was racist.
That tweet was quickly deleted.
Bloomberg released a statement Tuesday morning, calling the president's tweet "the latest example of his endless efforts to divide Americans.
He claimed to have "inherited the police practice of stop-and-frisk," adding "as part of our effort to stop gun violence it was overused." He said he regretted it and had apologized. He capped it off by saying he would not be bullied by the president.
Tuesday afternoon, the president fired back from the Oval Office:
"He practically begged for forgiveness. I wouldn't have begged for forgiveness. He was doing his job at the time," Trump said. "When he went up to a church and he apologized for everything he has ever done, that was only for getting votes, and I think probably people understand that."
Throughout the day, the Bloomberg team was in damage control mode. The campaign released photos Tuesday afternoon of Bloomberg meeting with African American religious leaders in his Manhattan office earlier in the day.
The campaign also put out surrogates to defend the former mayor's record.
"I know Mike Bloomberg. I've known Mike Bloomberg now for 19 years. There is not a racist bone in his body," said Dennis Walcott, Bloomberg's former schools chancellor. "When people use the race or racism word with him, they are totally wrong. And I know that for a fact."
Of course, all of this comes as Bloomberg has been ticking up in the polls. In fact, he needs just one more poll at 10 percent nationally to make the debate stage next week in Las Vegas.
-----
ADDITIONAL BLOOMBERG 2020 COVERAGE
Amid Questions About His Record on Women, Bloomberg Campaigns For Their Votes in Manhattan
Bloomberg Now Backs a $15 Minimum Wage — a Change in Stance
Bloomberg Is a Democrat With a History of Backing Republicans — Including In 2018
What Bloomberg Did — and Didn't Do — When It Came to Taxing Wealthier People
It's Clear Bloomberg's NYC Record is Following Him on the 2020 Campaign Trail
Mike Bloomberg Is Worth About $54B. Is That Actually a Weakness For a Democrat Now?
Bloomberg's Stop-and-Frisk Apology Is a Far Cry From His Defense When He Was Mayor
------
Looking for an easy way to learn about the issues affecting New York City?
Listen to our "Off Topic/On Politics" podcast: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | iHeartRadio | Stitcher | RSS