PHILADELPHIA _ Former New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg hit Donald Trump on Wednesday night where it hurts: in his business portfolio.
The political independent, showing up at the Democratic National Convention to lend his support to Hillary Clinton, called Trump a "dangerous demagogue" and said he spoke from experience when he described the Manhattan mogul as a fraud and a lousy businessman.
"Throughout his career, Trump has left behind a well-documented record of bankruptcies, and thousands of lawsuits and angry shareholders, and contractors who feel cheated, and disillusioned customers who feel they've been ripped off," said Bloomberg, who became a billionaire building his eponymous financial news service _ without, he pointedly noted, the $1-million stake Trump received from his father.
"Trump says he wants to run the nation like he runs his business. God help us! I'm a New Yorker and I know a con when I see one," Bloomberg said, drawing a thunderous roar from the crowd.
Bloomberg, who briefly considered his own third-party run for the White House, acknowledged he and Clinton have had their political differences and _ in an explicit reach for political independents and other skeptics _ said others may too.
But, he went on, "Whatever our differences may be, I have come here to say we must put them aside for the good of our country. And we must unite around the candidate who can defeat a dangerous demagogue."
The bottom line, Bloomberg said: "Trump is a risky, reckless and radical choice, and we can't afford to make that choice."
