Feb 18, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Warren calls Bloomberg an "egomaniac billionaire" ahead of his first debate

Mike Bloomberg and Elizabeth Warren. Photos: Alex Wong and Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

Sen. Elizabeth Warren joined Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday in accusing former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg of buying his way into the 2020 election, ahead of the ninth Democratic debate on Wednesday.

What she's saying: In a tweet, Warren wrote: "It’s a shame Mike Bloomberg can buy his way into the debate. But at least now primary voters curious about how each candidate will take on Donald Trump can get a live demonstration of how we each take on an egomaniac billionaire."

Driving the news: Bloomberg qualified for Wednesday's debate after notching 19% in the latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll.

By the numbers: Bloomberg's campaign is vastly outspending his top 2020 rivals on digital and network ad spending, pouring in about $318 million, per FiveThirtyEight.

  • His campaign announced a plan earlier this month to double ad spending, expected to reach $600 million for TV and digital ads alone.

Go deeper: The cost of going after Bloomberg

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Axios
21 mins ago - Podcasts

Facebook boycott organizers share details on their Zuckerberg meeting

Facebook is in the midst of the largest ad boycott in its history, with nearly 1,000 brands having stopped paid advertising in July because they feel Facebook hasn't done enough to remove hate speech from its namesake app and Instagram.

Axios Re:Cap spoke with the boycott's four main organizers, who met on Tuesday with CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other top Facebook executives, to learn why they organized the boycott, what they took from the meeting, and what comes next.

Sara Fischer
2 hours ago - Technology

Boycott organizers slam Facebook following tense virtual meeting

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Civil rights leaders blasted Facebook's top executives shortly after speaking with them on Tuesday, saying that the tech giant's leaders "failed to meet the moment" and were "more interested in having a dialogue than producing outcomes."

Why it matters: The likely fallout from the meeting is that the growing boycott of Facebook's advertising platform, which has reached nearly 1000 companies in less than a month, will extend longer than previously anticipated, deepening Facebook's public relations nightmare.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Hans Nichols
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Steve Scalise PAC invites donors to fundraiser at Disney World

Photo: Kevin Lamarque-Pool/Getty Images

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise’s PAC is inviting lobbyists to attend a four-day “Summer Meeting” at Disney World's Polynesian Village in Florida, all but daring donors to swallow their concern about coronavirus and contribute $10,000 to his leadership PAC.

Why it matters: Scalise appears to be the first House lawmakers to host an in-person destination fundraiser since the severity of pandemic became clear. The invite for the “Summer Meeting” for the Scalise Leadership Fund, obtained by Axios, makes no mention of COVID-19.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow