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Trump says Bloomberg once spoke 'GREAT things' about him, here's how they went from friends to bitter enemies

President Trump and Michael Bloomberg have been attacking each other for quite some time now, but this was not always the case

President Donald Trump and Michael Bloomberg have been attacking each other for quite some time now. In February, we had reported that in a series of scathing tweets as well as in a preview of a pre-Super Bowl interview, he had called the New York billionaire "Mini Mike”. He claimed the former mayor wants a box to stand on during a Democratic presidential debate. Bloomberg had hit back saying, “I stand twice as tall as he does on the stage, the stage that matters."

Trump is at it again. He made a jibe at Bloomberg by writing, “After the worst debate performance in the history of politics, Michael Bloomberg, commonly known as Mini Mike, is trying to make a comeback by begging the Democrats for relevance. They treated him like a dog - and always will. Before politics, he said GREAT things about me!”

According to a New York Times article, speaking at the DNC 2020, Bloomberg, who dropped out of the Presidential race in March, said: "Let’s put an end to this whole sorry chapter in American history and elect leaders who will bring integrity and confidence back to the White House."

However, the bitterness that Trump and Bloomberg share at present wasn’t exactly the case in the past. According to a Guardian report, both New York billionaires had a cordial and friendly relationship for years. The duo ran into each other at various charity events, parties and even one of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani’s weddings. 

The story states that in 2007, during a charity golf club event, Trump said it was "my really terrific privilege to introduce a man that I think is one of the great mayors and will go down as one of the great mayors, if not the greatest, in New York City." Again in 2013, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Trump said Bloomberg had "been a great mayor", adding: "I mean, this guy is fantastic", according to the article.

Bloomberg had also showered Trump with kind words. At the same ribbon-cutting ceremony, Bloomberg is quoted as saying, “If there is anybody who has changed this city, it is Donald Trump." The article further states that in 2004, Bloomberg made an appearance on 'The Apprentice' and Trump, at the time, had said he invited Bloomberg because he had “great respect for him".

The report states that even back then they were quite different from each other and moved in different social circles. Congressman Peter King, a New York Republican, is quoted in the story as saying, "It wasn’t like they were hugging or talking about 'Hey, remember the great times we had' – it was like two guys who knew each other but didn’t seem overly close, they didn’t seem overly hostile."

According to the story, the differences between the two men can be traced back to 2016. That year, according to the report, Bloomberg at the Democratic national convention, during his speech said he wasn’t there as "a member of any party" but to request voters to help elect Hillary Clinton and defeat "a dangerous demagogue". The report said at that time, Trump tweeted: "Little Michael Michael Bloomberg, who never had the guts to run for president, knows nothing about me. His last term as Mayor was a disaster!"

The Guardian report states that in 2019, the Washington Post had traced the evolution of Trump and Bloomberg’s interactions and Trump told the newspaper that he and Bloomberg used to like each other but the relationship "went strangely haywire once I ran for office". In the same article, Bloomberg is quoted as saying "objection to Donald Trump is the way he’s filling his current role, in terms of representing the country, in terms of representing the public. There's an attitude and a style and a lack of civility that I think is bad for the country and I find offensive."