Billionaire Presidents

The Boston Globe

In the most recent Democratic Debate, Senator Elizabeth Warren doubled down on Mayor Michael Bloomberg on his history of sexual assault allegations. As a former contract law professor, she came prepared with a prewritten release for Bloomberg to sign the women he has trapped in NDA contracts. 

Buckling under pressure, Bloomberg announced on Friday, February 21st that he would release three women from their contracts. In a tweet, he said, "Bloomberg LP has identified 3 NDAs signed over the past 30+ years with women to address complaints about comments they said I had made. If any of them want to be released from their NDAs, they should contact the company and they'll be given a release.”

What is interesting about Bloomberg’s announcement is the way he tries to diminish his crimes. Citing “Bloomberg LP '' depersonalizes the accusations and emphasizing that these allegations spanned over 30 + years creates the aura that this is an infrequent occurrence and not a behavioral pattern. To say that these women can “address complaints about comments they said [he] made” is condescending and hints at delegitimizing what these women have to say. In total, this announcement is a reflection of Bloomberg’s attitude and relationships with women over his lifetime.

According to the Washington Post, on his 48th birthday, Bloomberg disseminated booklets quoting, “Do you want to f---? He gets turned down a lot — but he gets f----- a lot, too!” Several former employees have come out to say that his information tech company “breeds a culture of sexual harassment and degradation.”

What does it mean that we have a billionaire with a history of degrading women running for president? It means that sexual abuse and gendered power dynamics are one of the few things that are blind to partisanship. Money and power knows no boundaries when it comes to exploitation, and therefore should stop getting treated like a partisan issue.

In the circumstance that Trump leaves office, there is a chance that another billionaire will step in and take his place. Nothing will change if another billionaire steps into office, no matter what their political leanings lay. What is important for this upcoming election is to vote for what you believe in rather than who you think will be the most likely candidate. The power is in the people and we have to vote for what will help people, rather than resign to the system.