President Trump and Michael Bloomberg trade insults
Billionaire politicians lob insults at one another; reaction and analysis on 'The Five.'
"The Five" hosts responded to the ongoing feud between President Trump and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg Monday after Trump mocked the Democratic candidate's height during a Super Bowl LIV pregame interview with Sean Hannity.
"I do not think there is a box, but I can't stop thinking about the box. Is it wood? Is it steel?" co-host Jesse Watters joked in reference to Trump's claim that Bloomberg had requested to stand on a box if he qualifies for the next Democratic debate.
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"The thing is," Watters continued," [is] that Trump just started a rumor ... and the media just runs with it. They are doing the dirty work for him. This is what he does. He accuses [his] opponent of having a shortcoming and the media reports about the ... shortcoming and then the opponent denies he has a shortcoming, but the whole time we are talking about the shortcoming."
Trump went after Bloomberg in a series of tweets over the weekend, calling him “Mini Mike” and claiming that he requested to “stand on boxes, or a lift, during the debates.” In his interview with Hannity Sunday, Trump doubled down on his attacks on the billionaire's height, questioning whether allowing him a platform to stand on would be fair to the other candidates.
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"You know, now he wants a box for the debates to stand on. OK? It’s OK, there’s nothing wrong," Trump said. "You can be short. Why should he get a box to stand on, OK? He wants a box for the debates. Why should he be entitled to that? Really. Does that mean everyone else gets a box?"
Bloomberg fired back Sunday night denying Trump's claims, saying he "stands twice as tall as he does on the stage that matters." He also called Trump a "pathological liar who lies about his fake hair, obesity and spray-on tan."
"There's something brilliant about the fact that the question isn't 'Is there a box?' the question is, 'Is it fair that he has a box and other people don't?" Greg Gutfeld said.
Gutfeld offered one of his popular analogies, saying Trump utilizes the media "like a T-shirt cannon."
"He puts this visual message on the shirt, Bloomberg on a box and he fires it into the media and you have half the media, [like] CNN who falls for it and writes, 'There is no box.'
"They get all freaked out," he continued, "while we are sitting here laughing at it because we know that this is how the show works and getting the media riled up ... is all he is trying to do."
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Co-host Juan Williams said the president's "punching down" of Bloomberg may actually help the Democratic hopeful and give his candidacy "more oxygen."
"I do see that the president is punching down at Michael Bloomberg and unintentionally elevating Mike Bloomberg," he explained.
"Are you calling Mike Bloomberg short?" guest host Katie Pavlich cut in.
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"That's an easy retort, but that's not what I meant," Williams fired back. "He's the president of the United States and Mike Bloomberg is not even in Iowa. He's not running ads in Iowa, and the president's attention is giving more oxygen to Mike Bloomberg's candidacy."
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