--- title: Bloomberg Takes on Trump and Sanders in Commencement Speech description: Michael Bloomberg blasted the "demagoguery" of the 2016 race in a speech on Saturday, referencing Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders canonical: https://time.com/4313436/michael-bloomberg-commencement-speech-donald-trump-bernie-sanders/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-30T17:02:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:42:01.603Z article:section: Politics og:title: Bloomberg Blasts Trump and Sanders in Commencement Speech og:description: "We’ve seen more demagoguery from both parties than I can remember" og:url: https://time.com/4313436/michael-bloomberg-commencement-speech-donald-trump-bernie-sanders/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ad8af6e710f7526/698891540a4a22dead9c9796/michael-bloomberg-commencement.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Global Mayors Summit Addresses Climate Issues During COP21 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bloomberg Blasts Trump and Sanders in Commencement Speech twitter:description: "We’ve seen more demagoguery from both parties than I can remember" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ad8af6e710f7526/698891540a4a22dead9c9796/michael-bloomberg-commencement.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Michael Bloomberg Blasts Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders in Commencement Speech > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Michael Bloomberg Announces He Will Not Run for President [Watch (HLS stream): Michael Bloomberg Announces He Will Not Run for President](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/idRalrNZ.m3u8) (1:08)  _Published 2016-03-07. Michael Bloomberg announced in a statement entitled 'The Risk I Will Not Take' that he will not run for President of the United States in 2016._  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Apr 30, 2016 5:02 PM UTC  Michael Bloomberg, United Nations special envoy for cities and climate change and founder of Bloomberg LP, reacts during a news conference at the United Nations COP21 climate summit at Le Bourget in Paris, France, on Dec. 4, 2015. Michael Bloomberg, United Nations special envoy for cities and climate change and founder of Bloomberg LP, reacts during a news conference at the United Nations COP21 climate summit at Le Bourget in Paris, France, on Dec. 4, 2015.Christophe Morin—Bloomberg/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Apr 30, 2016 5:02 PM UTC Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor who [considered a presidential run](http://time.com/4191502/michael-bloomberg-presidential-run/) this year, [blasted the partisan politics](http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-04-30/here-s-your-degree-now-go-defeat-demagogues) and “demagoguery” of the 2016 race in a commencement speech on Saturday, making reference to both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. “In this year’s presidential election, we’ve seen more demagoguery from both parties than I can remember in my lifetime,” the billionaire businessman said, in a [column adapted from his remarks](http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-04-30/here-s-your-degree-now-go-defeat-demagogues) at the University of Michigan. “Our country is facing serious and difficult challenges. But rather than offering realistic solutions, candidates in both parties are blaming our problems on easy targets who breed resentment. For Republicans, it’s Mexicans here illegally and Muslims. And for Democrats, it’s the wealthy and Wall Street. The truth is: We cannot solve the problems we face by blaming anyone.” Trump, the Republican front-runner, has repeatedly promised to [build a border wall](http://time.com/4237744/vicente-fox-donald-trump-wall-mexico/) and [get Mexico to pay for it](http://time.com/4281926/donald-trump-mexico-border-wall-explanation/) and has [called for a ban on Muslims](http://time.com/4253839/donald-trump-islam-hates-us-interview/) entering the United States. Sanders, a Democratic candidate, has [repeatedly targeted Wall Street](http://time.com/4184050/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-campaign-finance/) and the “billionaire class.” [Both he and Hillary Clinton](http://time.com/4209279/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-democratic-debate-wall-street/) have said they will reform big financial institutions if elected. Bloomberg—who has previously affiliated as both a Republican and Democrat and was considering a run for president as an Independent candidate—criticized “extreme partisanship” and “disturbing” intolerance for other political views in the U.S. and warned that “demagogues are always lurking.” He called on politicians to offer practical solutions instead of “scapegoats or pie-in-the-sky promises.” “Every generation has had to confront its own demagogues. And every generation has stood up and kept them away from the White House. At least so far,” he said. “Today, when a populist candidate promises free college, free health care and a pony, or another candidate promises to make other countries pay for our needs, remember: Those who promise you a free lunch will invariably eat you for breakfast.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4313436/michael-bloomberg-commencement-speech-donald-trump-bernie-sanders/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4313436/michael-bloomberg-commencement-speech-donald-trump-bernie-sanders/"},"headline":"Michael Bloomberg Blasts Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders in Commencement Speech","datePublished":"2016-04-30T17:02:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:42:01.603Z","description":"\"We’ve seen more demagoguery from both parties than I can remember\"","url":"https://time.com/4313436/michael-bloomberg-commencement-speech-donald-trump-bernie-sanders/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ad8af6e710f7526/698891540a4a22dead9c9796/michael-bloomberg-commencement.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ad8af6e710f7526/698891540a4a22dead9c9796/michael-bloomberg-commencement.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Global Mayors Summit Addresses Climate Issues During COP21","caption":"Global Mayors Summit Addresses Climate Issues During COP21","creditText":"Christophe Morin—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4313436/michael-bloomberg-commencement-speech-donald-trump-bernie-sanders/","name":"Michael Bloomberg Blasts Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders in Commencement Speech"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Michael Bloomberg Announces He Will Not Run for President","description":"Michael Bloomberg announced in a statement entitled 'The Risk I Will Not Take' that he will not run for President of the United States in 2016.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/idRalrNZ/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-03-07T23:42:52.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/idRalrNZ.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4313436/michael-bloomberg-commencement-speech-donald-trump-bernie-sanders/","duration":"PT1M8S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4313436/michael-bloomberg-commencement-speech-donald-trump-bernie-sanders/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```