Michael Bloomberg has a sexism problem. And yes, contra Kellyanne Conway, it’s just as bad as President Trump’s.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t worth discussing, especially considering Bloomberg’s surprising surge in the Democratic primaries.
As reports have been circulating about Bloomberg’s alleged sexism and mistreatment of female subordinates, the Washington Post published a collection of Bloomberg’s aphorisms, many of them sexist or simply obsessed with sex.
The Portable Bloomberg: The Wit & Wisdom of Michael Bloomberg was given to the businessman in 1990 by Elisabeth DeMarse, Bloomberg L.P.’s former chief marketing officer. In the introduction, she wrote, “Yes, these are all actual quotes. No, nothing has been embellished or exaggerated. And yes, some things were too outrageous to include.”
Bloomberg has dismissed the contents of the booklet in the past, but he has never denied their veracity outright. For this latest unearthing, a spokesman told the Washington Post: “Mike simply did not say the things somebody wrote in this gag gift, which has been circulating for 30 years and has been quoted in every previous election Mike has been in.”
The quotes range from advice on business to suggestions for where to get good food in Manhattan. They exhibit a typical finance type’s philosophy of power and success, as well as a weird fascination with lesbians and blow jobs. Here are just a few of the most jarring quotes:
On negotiations: ‘What do I want? I want an exclusive, 10-year contract, an automatic extension, and I want you to pay me. And I want a blow job from [redacted]. Have you seen [redacted]? Not bad for fifty.’
On the Bloomberg: ‘It will do everything, including give you a blowjob. I guess that puts a lot of you girls out of business.’
On women: ‘If women wanted to be appreciated for their brains, they’d go to the library instead of to Bloomingdale’s.’
On marriage: ‘Whenever my wife catches me eyeing some broad, she’s very careful to turn to me and say ‘That’s the most expensive piece of ass in the world!’’
Whenever he’s told an employee is getting married: ‘Are you pregnant?’
On being asked to name a sport that doesn’t use balls: ‘Lesbian Sex.’
When DeMarse compiled the booklet for Bloomberg, it appears she was creating a gag gift, not trying to create a dossier of Bloomberg’s incriminating comments. But the gift wouldn’t work very well if the comments had been made up.
“At the time,” according to the Washington Post, “some Bloomberg staffers said, they laughed off the comments in the 32-page booklet, ‘The Wit and Wisdom of Michael Bloomberg,’ as a macho side of one of the nerdiest men on Wall Street.”
But these aren’t just words. His supposed comments fit all the allegations that have been lodged against him of inappropriate behavior. One former female employee accused Bloomberg of telling her to “kill it” when she told him she was pregnant. Surely shocked, she asked him to repeat himself and he, undeterred, said again, “Kill it!” Bloomberg has also been accused of fixating on the appearances of women, pointing out their gray hair or lack of high heels. (Perhaps he was musing about Bloomingdale’s.)
As far as 2020 goes, there is a danger that Bloomberg’s behavior will be treated much like Trump’s history — the Access Hollywood tape, the alleged pay-off of porn star Stormy Daniels — dismissed as “locker room talk,” and excused as behavior from the pre-#MeToo era.
But none of that excuses what appears to be a history of blatant sexism and discrimination. On the campaign trail, Bloomberg should be held to account.
