Mike Bloomberg’s rapidly-expanding campaign sets up headquarters in New York’s Times Square just above offices owned by Jared Kushner – as billionaire former New York mayor promises NOT to work from the Oval Office if he wins
- Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is putting campaign staff in a New York City building that used to house the New York Times
- Lower floors of the West 43rd Street building are owned by White House adviser and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner
- In unveiling the new office, Bloomberg also announced he planned to work out of the White House’s East Room, surrounded by top aides
- Bloomberg touted his open-concept plan by saying, ‘Some people like to build walls. I like to tear them down’
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s campaign is getting a new home – a New York City office building near Times Square that used to house the New York Times newspaper.
Coincidentally, the bottom floors of the West 43rd Street address are owned by White House adviser and presidential son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Politico first reported on Bloomberg’s new digs, as the Democratic 2020 hopeful revealed that he’d turn the White House’s East Room into an open-concept office, with his desk in the middle.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is moving his steadily growing campaign staff into new New York City offices, which are located in the old New York Times building near Times Square in Manhattan
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg tweeted out Politico’s story about his new office – and shared this image of an open-concept space he plans to use for his campaign headquarters, but also at the White House should he win
Michael Bloomberg is moving his presidential campaign’s headquarters into this office building near Times Square in New York City. It previously housed the New York Times and some of the lower floors are owned by presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner
A President Bloomberg wouldn’t use the Oval Office, the billionaire said, instead he’d turn the East Room into an open air command center
‘I’ll use the Oval Office for some official functions – never for tweeting – but the rest of the time, I’ll be where a leader should be: with the team,’ Bloomberg said in a tweet, sharing the Politico story.
Bloomberg was a late bloomer to the presidential race, announcing last month that he planned to seek the Democratic nomination.
For comparison, Sen. Elizabeth Warren will mark a year of 2020 campaigning Tuesday, on New Year’s Eve.
To make up for lost time, the billionaire businessman-turned politician hired 300 people to staff the New York City headquarters, and another 200 who will be active in the states, according to Politico’s report.
Bloomberg is also planning to skip the early caucus and primary states and focus his energies on Super Tuesday – which takes place March 3 – when Americans from 14 states and American Samoa head to the polls.
Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina have their contests in the weeks before, starting with the Iowa caucuses on February 3.
The new Bloomberg office will have countdown clocks showing the days, hours, minutes and seconds to Super Tuesday and to the general election, Politico said.
There will be conference spaces and they’ll be named after states and include the number of delegates each state sends to the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee in July.
But the New York City campaign headquarters will resemble what Bloomberg wants at his White House, an open concept plan.
‘In sports, the coach or manager is right there with the players, giving directions, drawing on the white boards, huddling during timeouts, motivating and inspiring – and picking someone up when they’ve made a mistake,’ Bloomberg wrote in an email to staff Monday. ‘Managers in every organization should be performing those same roles.’
‘Walls just get in the way, by stifling communication and making collaboration more difficult,’ he continued.
‘Some people like to build walls. I like to tear them down,’ Bloomberg said.