American billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has officially launched the 2020 Democratic presidential bid, a source close to the former politician said on Sunday.
Bloomberg's bid injects a new level of uncertainty into the race less than three months before the first voting in the race begins, CNN reported.
The billionaire had said earlier this year that he would not run but reversed his decision because he does not think there's a candidate in the current field of Democrats who can beat President Donald Trump next November, as claimed by several people close to the former Mayor.
To kick start his campaign, Bloomberg has placed at least USD 37 million worth of television advertising over the next two weeks, according to data from Kantar Media/CMAG.
The ads highlight the Mayor's biography -- "He could have just been the middle-class kid who made but Mike Bloomberg became the guy who did good," says the ad along with his work on combatting climate change.
Then the spot turns to Trump, saying now the Mayor is "taking on him" as an image of Trump freezes on the screen.
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The spot ends with the narrator saying "'Mike Bloomberg for President" with Bloomberg saying "I'm Mike Bloomberg and I approve this message."
The 77-year-old entrepreneur and philanthropist made his fortune creating technology that bankers and traders use to access market data.
After building a successful financial information business, he turned to politics and officially launched a bid to become Mayor of New York in 2001 as a Republican.
However, Bloomberg switched parties and became an independent -- only to re-register as a Democrat in 2018.