Stop Whining About Trump, Says Billionaire Michael Bloomberg

The billionaire who changed New York City's laws in order to be a three-term mayor has some heartwarming advice for how us plebs should handle the Trump era: Suck it up, bitch.

Michael Bloomberg called Trump a "dangerous demagogue" at the 2016 Democratic Convention, but now that Trump is president, Bloomberg has changed his tune, going on The View to deny he ever said that. (Though he did cop to calling Trump a "con man.")

"We're a democracy, the public has spoken, whether you like the results or not, and other than with a little help from the Russians, he was elected," said the former mayor. "We have to make it work… We have an election—whoever wins, you got to get behind."

Trump obviously won, but Hillary Clinton got more votes, and Trump's disapproval rating is at a staggering 58 percent. If anything, the public spoke out against Trump and continues to do so—but thanks to an insufferably quirky electoral system, he's the president anyway.

Bloomberg, who considered his own 2016 presidential bid, explained the women of The View that no matter how corrupt or morally bankrupt the president may be, the country should support him. "That's our country. That's my kids and my grandkids. We have to make it work," he said.

That makes sense when you're a billionaire worried about currying favor with whatever set of suits are in power. Bloomberg's appeals to bipartisanship only make sense when you have nothing really at stake in political debates. His kids and grandkids will be fine no matter who's in power.

To hear Bloomberg tell it, America is doing just peachy, and Trump's rise to power was just an example of democracy in action.

"The public is a lot smarter than people give them credit for and they look and they see and they decide and Donald Trump showed you can get elected president of the United States without spending a lot of money," Bloomberg explained on The View, neglecting to mention that though Clinton outspent Trump, both campaigns dished out obscene amounts of money in the 2016 election. I suppose in the view of a man whose net worth is over $50 billion, $957.6 million to elect is pocket change.

When The View hosts challenged this idea, pointing out all the free press Trump got during the election, Bloomberg replied, "The press is very democratic—they give you what you ask for, and if you want embarrassment and failure and scandal and sensationalism, that's what you're going to get."

There you have it: The public loves sensationalism, so the press can't be blamed for giving them what they want, and Trump can't be blamed for catering to their worst instincts. Now that Trump is president, it's your patriotic duty to want him to succeed. If not, stay quiet and listen to billionaires like Bloomberg.

That's an awfully roundabout way to shift the blame for Trump from the elites who empowered his rise and onto the public. If Bloomberg's remarks show us anything, it's more evidence against billionaires becoming politicians.

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