Mike Bloomberg on Foreign Policy Mayor of New York City (Independent)

US should lead during global emergency; Trump has not

Bloomberg Philanthropies has launched initiatives to help cities manage the pandemic and to support vulnerable low- and middle-income countries, through its partnership with the WHO.

Work on China's Uighur human rights, using business pressure

BLOOMBERG: Number one, it's a disgrace, their human rights policies. And it's not just against the Uyghurs. It's other ethnic groups in China. And we should try to pressure them to stop it. I think it's also unrealistic to say that we are going to stop doing business with China, for a few reasons. Number one, the biggest problem facing the world is climate change, because it can kill us all. And China is a very big part of that solution. And also the American economy and the Chinese economy are linked. So it's just unrealistic to think that we're going to stop doing business with China, but it is not unrealistic to try to pressure them --not just on human rights, [but also on] stealing intellectual property. They are very unfair in treaties, in the way we do business. We can't own something there; they can own it in our country.

China doesn't want a democracy; but don't go to war over it

BLOOMBERG: Well it's a question of what is a dictator. They don't have a democracy in the sense that they have general elections, that is true. They do have a system where a small group of people appoint the head, and they churn over periodically. If you go back and look at the last two or three decades there've been a number of people that had the same position that Xi Jinping has. I think the question is, if your definition is a democracy where people vote and pick their leaders, that is not what China's about and they don't seem to want it. They like their system, and I think they're wrong. I think they'd be better off opening things up. And I think we should work as hard as we can to change that, but you're not going to war and try to force them. We have to figure out a way to work with them while protecting our industries and protecting our country militarily.

Only solution is to split up Israel and Palestine

Number one, you can't move the embassy back. We should not have done it without getting something from the Israeli government. But it was done, and you're going to have to leave it there.

Number two, only solution here is a two-state solution. The Palestinians have to be accommodated. The real problem here is you have two groups of people, both who think God gave them the same piece of land. And the answer is to obviously split it up, leave the Israeli borders where they are, try to push them to pull back some of those on the other side of the wall, where they've built these new communities, which they should not have done that, pull it back.

Repair our frayed relationships with our allies

Trump coddles Russia; they intruded in 2016 election

He says that Trump is in a "state of denial" about Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, which Bloomberg calls "a hostile power's intrusions into U.S. sovereignty."

System of alliances achieved peace & democratic progress

Both as mayor and through his philanthropy, he has furthered his vision of diplomatic engagement with heads of state, city representatives, business leaders, and organizations around the world.

He has worked closely with the United Nations, especially on climate. In 2014 he was appointed a UN special envoy for climate and he has helped to organize UN climate summits.

Bloomberg Philanthropies has worked with global institutions such as the World Health Organization and with national governments on its public health initiatives in areas such as disease prevention, nutrition, and family planning.

Don't recognize Crimea annexation; do extend START treaty

He says that lifting any sanctions on Russia or recognizing its annexation of Crimea would be "a monumental mistake." He argues that Washington must continue providing Ukraine with lethal aid for it to defend against Russian aggression and maintain faith in U.S. security guarantees.

He has called Putin a "strongman" who seeks territorial expansion and the destabilization of Europe and who has abetted war crimes in Syria by supporting Bashar al-Assad's government.

He opposes the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Europe, arguing that it would give Putin increased leverage over European countries.

He calls for talks with Russia to extend the New START treaty, a nuclear arms reduction agreement set to expire in 2021, as well as to revive the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty.

Saudi Arabia's modernization is going in the right direction

Bloomberg hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in New York in 2018 and he has praised Saudi Arabia for its reform efforts, especially its expansion of women's rights, saying the country is going "in the right direction."

Partner with World Bank: reduce traffic fatalities worldwide

Around the world, road traffic injuries are taking the lives of 145 people every hour of every day. That adds up to something like 1.3 million people dying on the world's roads each year--and a further 20 to 50 million people suffering injuries, often debilitating ones. But make no mistake about it: this is a problem that affects us all--especially the world's poorest. 90% of these fatalities occur in the world's rapidly urbanizing low- and middle-income nations.

Our record of improving safety in New York encouraged me to try to replicate this same success around the world, and it also inspired us to act at the fact that road safety has not typically been a top priority--yet the number of lives that could potentially be saved is incredible.

Visited Israel for first time just before candidacy

Bloomberg's advisers bristle at that interpretation. The company's expanding good works, and new focus on city news, were extensions of Bloomberg L.P.'s growth and prosperity in its hometown.

Maybe so. But the policy still had political value, spreading his name and goodwill.

Bloomberg exposed himself to his spreading network of advisers and local factotums. A secular Jew who had dutifully contributed to NY's many Jewish causes, he even visited Israel for the 1st time 2 months before declaring his candidacy. (He had, just 5 years earlier, quipped to a reporter for the "Jerusalem Report" that he saw no reason to go to Israel because "there's no good skiing there," boasting that he had said precisely the same directly to Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's future prime minister, then the Likud leader.)

Peace is fragile and democracy is fragile

2008: I know foreign policy from negotiating deals worldwide

Maintains mayoral office for UN relations, run by his sister

Of course, being the Mayor of NYC--the world’s most international city--is a bit like presiding over the UN every single day of the year

Four trips abroad in first four months of 2007

Earlier this year, Bloomberg visited England, Ireland, and Israel, and he has shown up in the presidential swing states of Ohio and Florida. He made a high-profile visit to Los Angeles in September. Last week, he appeared in Jersey City flanked by mayors and police officers to announce an advertising blitz for his national campaign targeting illegal guns.

Officials said today’s trip was planned to allow Bloomberg to examine Mexico’s program that pays impoverished families for meeting certain health, education, and employment goals. Bloomberg has reached into his own pocket to help pay for a pilot program starting in N.Y. this fall that is modeled on one in Mexico.

Egypt shakes down Israeli tourists at border crossings