'Don’t lick your dirty fingers': Trump slams Bloomberg for licking his fingers while eating pizza amid coronavirus fear
Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg joined the presidential race in November last year and contested his first primaries on Super Tuesday (March 3). He also made his debut in the Democratic debate in Las Vegas last month and his campaign expected that he would gain the much-anticipated momentum on the big day when 14 states and one territory went to the primaries/caucuses.
However, Bloomberg's plan did not materialize on the expected lines (he won American Samoa as early results showed) and President Donald Trump ended up mocking him over his less-than-hygienic eating habits.
A tweet accompanying a video showed the billionaire candidate eating food from packets and licking his fingers during the Super Tuesday at a campaign stop in Virginia. Trump called out "Mini Mike" and said it was "unsanitary" and "dangerous". Bloomberg was seen tearing off a piece of pizza from a box, eating it and licking his fingers and then placing the remaining slice back. He then reached out for the coffee container.
The president targeted his Democratic opponent in connection with coronavirus, the deadly virus that has killed nine in the country besides affecting many others. Taking a dig at Bloomberg, Trump tweeted, "Mini Mike, don’t lick your dirty fingers. Both unsanitary and dangerous to others and yourself!"
Preventive measures against the virus include maintaining hygiene while touching and eating food and Bloomberg's mishandling of food items at a public space irked the president. Trump recently appointed his deputy Mike Pence in charge of the government's response to the health scare, a move which has come under serious criticism.
It is not the first time that Trump has targeted Bloomberg. Recently, the former NYC mayor was criticized for defending 'stop and frisk' policy in the past and Trump called him a 'total racist'.
Bloomberg disappointed with Virginia, NC results
Meanwhile, Bloomberg's campaign expressed disappointment over Virginia where early polls predicted him to be in a good position. The self-funded candidate finished fourth in the race with less than 10 percent votes in the blue state and no delegates. In North Carolina, too, he was doing no good and was lagging behind Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders despite spending over $17 million on television advertising. Biden won both the states to boost his campaign.
One advisor of Bloomberg told CNN: "This isn’t going as planned. Things changed after Las Vegas debate and never recovered."
The former mayor's campaign manager Kevin Sheekey though told reporters that Bloomberg was not going to drop out, yet the disappointment could not be hidden. He won American Samoa with almost 50 percent of the votes.
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