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Donald Trump on Michael Bloomberg: 'Not a friend of mine anymore'
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert))
Donald Trump said Thursday that he probably is no longer friends with fellow New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg.
"He was a friend of mine. As far as I'm concerned, he's not a friend of mine anymore," Trump said during a Fox Business interview.
Trump was responding to the former New York City mayor's apparent jab at him earlier this week in the Financial Times.
Bloomberg confirmed his interest in a potential presidential campaign while saying the US public deserved "a lot better" than what it was currently getting from the candidates.
"I find the level of discourse and discussion distressingly banal and an outrage and an insult to the voters," Bloomberg said.
Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner, said Thursday that friends don't say such things about each other.
"I thought that was a nasty shot. I assume it was taken at me. But when my friends say things like that — assuming it was meant at me — I no longer consider them friends," he explained. "I knew Michael very well. And he was a friend of mine."
He also said he hoped Bloomberg would ultimately mount an independent campaign for the White House. Trump predicted that if he won the Republican nomination, Bloomberg would take more votes from the Democratic nominee than himself.
"I would love him in the race. I would love to compete against Michael," Trump said. "I think I'd beat him. I think he would hurt the Democrats. … We'll see what happens," he added.
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