Mike Bloomberg, three-time mayor of New York City, was not on the Democratic debate stage last night, but his senior advisor Tim O'Brien told Cheddar Friday that Bloomberg's time governing a major metropolis will help him moving forward.
"He has a long list of policy prescriptions that are not only promises but are based on the fact that he's governed and delivered on solutions to voters in the past," he said.
Bloomberg, whom O'Brien said is "nipping at Pete Buttigieg's heels," did not qualify for last night's debate because his campaign is self-funded. He is relying on a different approach in what he hopes is his path to success, already outspending his Democratic opponents on television and online ads.
The candidate has spent at least $24 million on Google and Facebook already, nearly matching President Trump's $31.6 million in ad spending on the platforms this year.
The other 2020 Democratic candidates have also sparred over the subject of experience, and the sixth Democratic debate last night was no different. Senator Amy Klobuchar challenged Mayor Pete Buttigieg for the South Bend mayor's lack of time spent in national governance.
"The last time we debated, you, basically, mocked the 100 years of experience on the stage," Klobuchar told Buttigieg. "I just think you should respect our experience when you look at how you evaluate someone who can get things done."
Cheddar Politics takes a deeper look at the takeaways from the Georgia primary elections on Tuesday. Georgia Public Broadcasting's local and state politics reporter, Stephen Fowler, joins us to discuss the limits of Trump endorsements and break down what the outcome in each race means.
After learning that the suspect in the Uvalde school shooting posted about his intentions on Facebook, activists are urging social networks to make changes. Lena Derhally, a licensed psychotherapist and author of "The Facebook Narcissist," joined Cheddar News to discuss the role social media plays in school shootings. "They're not really invested in taking down hateful content," she said about social platforms."In regards to the shooting, it was 15 minutes before that actual threat. It would be pretty hard for a social media company to trace that threat that quickly. But what they can do better is take down threats and hateful content much faster and more than they're doing now."
Following the mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two adults dead, the debate over gun control has been reignited. While studies have shows most Americans agree on some additional regulations, there hasn't been much legislative traction even as gun violence worsens in the country. Brian Lemek, the executive director of Defend The Vote and the former executive director at Brady PAC for gun control, joined Cheddar to discuss reform efforts. "The lawmakers that we have aren't passing these at the federal level," he said. "That's the problem. We have the wrong people in charge."
The crypto industry is still reeling from Terra's recent crash. The company's blockchain was temporarily halted earlier this month after the collapse of its cryptocurrency Luna (LUNA) and its stablecoin TerraUSD (UST), which led to almost $45 billion being wiped from the tokens' market caps within a week. Now, many are left wondering what Terra's struggles mean for the broader crypto market. Reeve Collins, CEO of the NFT platform BLOCKv, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell from Davos 2022 to discuss.
The average city in California has a 38% higher cost of living than the average American city, according to a cost of living index. For many, the general minimum wage of $15/hour just doesn't cut it. Anti-poverty activist Joe Sanberg wants to get the minimum wage changed to $18/hour. He joins Cheddar News to discuss the Living Wage Act of 2022.
