City Room: Bloomberg Tells Trump to Drop the ‘Birther’ Issue

 

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who once harbored presidential aspirations himself, had some advice on Sunday for another billionaire considering national office: Stay away from the “birther” issue.

Mr. Bloomberg, appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” declared flatly that “the President was born here,’’ and suggested that Donald Trump, the real estate tycoon now exploring a presidential run, is not helping his prospective candidacy by affiliating with those who argue that President Obama was not born in the United States.

“The Republicans are making a terrible mistake in making this a big issue,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “We have immigration, we have the deficit, we have the economy. Those are the things that the public cares about.”

Still, Mr. Bloomberg called Mr. Trump a friend and “New York icon,” and he said that “anybody can run for president.’’

Citing the wisdom of his longtime girlfriend, Diana L. Taylor, an investment banker, Mr. Bloomberg said that what matters to the public are the issues of jobs and housing. “If the Republican Party doesn’t start addressing that,” he said, “they will lose and they deserve to.”

Making his first appearance on the Fox program, Mr. Bloomberg seemed to have a word of advice for everyone on Sunday. He said President Obama should spend more time wooing his political foes. “He has to pick up the phone and call and say, ‘I know we disagree on this, but I just want to say, I heard it was your wife’s birthday, or your kid just got into college.’ ”

He said Republicans and Democrats in Congress need to find common ground, and come up with a plan to reduce the nation’s debt. “We seem to be emphasizing our differences in this politically charged time, rather than focusing on what unites us,” he said.

Mr. Bloomberg grew most passionate in discussing immigration, an issue he has emphasized as mayor. He said providing a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants is essential to growing the economy. “You’re not going to solve the problem,” he said, “by yelling and screaming at those people.”

The mayor’s loquaciousness on all things national seemed to beg a familiar question: Does he see the White House in his future?

“I’m not running for president,” he said twice to Chris Wallace, the show’s host. “Is that explicit enough?”

Mr. Bloomberg told Mr. Wallace that, at a dinner in Brooklyn on Saturday night, somebody had told him he would make a great president.

“Thank you very much,” Mr. Bloomberg said he replied, “but I have a job.”