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Thousands of people are tweeting their criticism of Mike Bloomberg and his run for president as campaign offices are vandalized across the country.
The phrase #EatTheRich was one of the top trending topics on Twitter early Tuesday morning after a sign with the slogan was placed in the window of the billionaire's campaign office in Flint, Michigan on February 16.
The incident was one of a number of acts of vandalism which have hit Bloomberg's campaign offices in the past few weeks.
Most recently, the words "racist," "sexist," "GOP" and "oligarch" were spray painted on the windows of his office in Chicago, Illinois, on Monday, February 24.
Similar acts of vandalism have also taken place in Salt Lake City, Utah, on February 22, where several office windows were smashed.
The words "racist oligarch f**k Bloomberg" were spray painted at a campaign office in Knoxville, Tennessee, and "Corporate Pig" was also written on office windows in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
As well as in Chicago, the word "oligarch" was also spray painted on Bloomberg's campaign offices in Toledo and Youngstown, Ohio.
"America deserves better," Team Bloomberg tweeted while listing the acts of vandalism to have occurred.
On Twitter, tens of thousand of people seem to support the acts, using #EatTheRich to show their disdain for inequality which exists in the world, but also to attack Bloomberg for his wealth and his campaign for president.
Just love how Bloomberg is spending millions on promoting anti-capitalists agitprop all over social media!! #EatTheRich https://t.co/7iM9iclMla
— Emerican Johnson - Self-Declared Antifa (@EmericanJohnson) February 25, 2020
The Bloomberg team is upset about a sign in Flint Michigan. I'm guessing Flint Michigan is upset to see three billionaires running for president. Spending more on campaigning than Flint needs to replace led pipes. #EatTheRich https://t.co/oPy1wuKund
— Sarah Newell (@MsSarahNewell) February 25, 2020
#EatTheRich is trending because Bloomberg is completely out of touch and thought posting about his office in Flint (“America”) deserving better would be a good idea. This is gonna be gooooood. pic.twitter.com/a6F8yJ7igR
— Megan Marie ? (@DancesInChucks) February 25, 2020
#EatTheRich is trending, but probably not for the reason Bloomberg's campaign would have liked.
— Kelly Mangan ?️? (@KellyAMangan) February 25, 2020
Which I imagine makes billionaires like him rather nervous.?
I make zero apologies for my resulting schadenfreude. pic.twitter.com/4l9GNnXiQ0
Trump exploited the vulnerability to working class people of this country with empty promises and lies. He then give tax breaks to the 1%. Now, Bloomberg think he can buy his way to the presidency. We had enough. Sharpen the guillotines. #EatTheRich
— #darkesttimeline ?? (@snerpent) February 25, 2020
Bloomberg could literally pay to replace all the lead water pipes in America and still be worth $10 BILLION. #EatTheRich https://t.co/Fvp2Tnid9G
— F the Establishment #GreenParty2020 (@citizen230) February 25, 2020
at this point i'm fully convinced bloomberg's social media interns are deliberatly trying to sabotage the campaign
— 💖ðŸ´â˜it's laura~â˜ðŸ´ðŸ’– (@anarchomastia) February 25, 2020
they're spreading their opposition's message for them#EatTheRich https://t.co/wOwcooYUhy
Bloomberg literally campaigned for Republican Gov. Snyder, who allowed Flint to become the poorest city not only in MI but in the country; oh, and is responsible for the citizens of Flint to have no clean drinking water...but you're butt hurt over a sign? #EatTheRich #MInative https://t.co/QZqNEG546O
— Hipster Watts (@86watts) February 24, 2020
If you made $100,000 every day since this nation was founded you would be worth 12% of Bloomberg's net-worth.
— Thomas Young (@Thomas_A_Young) February 25, 2020
Meanwhile, 60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. #EatTheRich
Re: Bloomberg being able to pay to fix Flint. If he paid the $55m, it wouldn't even be ONE TENTH of ONE PERCENT of his wealth. #EatTheRich pic.twitter.com/HzKx6h1Tfd
— Matt | BLM. (@Dwyguy_19) February 25, 2020
In 2018, Jeff Bezos made roughly $11.5 Million per HOUR, yet there are people in America, in the WORLD, struggling to feed their families. Struggling to make ends meet. Falling into deficit. Falling into debt at the age of 18, 19, 20, because of how little jobs pay. #EatTheRich
— HADES GOTY (@biIIyteddies) February 25, 2020
#EatTheRich is trending. I couldnt be more proud. Capitalists steal your wages. Landlords would rather you freeze and die then miss even a few days of rent. Our police kill those who strike and protest, our military exist to strike fear in the hearts of workers globally.
— Nic Boone (@NicBoone) February 25, 2020
Why the #EatTheRich hashtag is trending: Because Billionaires should not exist
— Adam E Ross (@adammanross) February 25, 2020
#EatTheRich is trending because over the past 30 years the top 1% gained $21 trillion in wealth while the bottom 50% lost $900 billion in wealth. AMERICANS SHOULD BE AFRAID OF CAPITALISM NOT DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM.
— Ryan Knight 🌹🗽 (@ProudResister) February 25, 2020
We can afford to make sure every person has housing.
— Benjamin Dixon (@BenjaminPDixon) February 25, 2020
We can afford to make sure every person has food.
We can afford to make sure every person can see a doctor.
We can afford to make sure every person has higher education.#EatTheRich
In a statement, Bloomberg's campaign manager Kevin Sheekey described the repeated acts of vandalism as "an act of hate" while again suggesting that the supporters of 2020 rival and socialist democrat Bernie Sanders may be responsible.
"While we do not know who is directly responsible, we do know Senator Bernie Sanders and his campaign have repeatedly invoked this language, and the word 'oligarch' specifically when discussing Mike Bloomberg and his campaign.
"Sen. Sanders' refusal to denounce these illegal acts is a sign of his inability to lead, and his willingness to condone and promote Trump-like rhetoric has no place in our politics. Fortunately, no one has been injured. But this needs to end before someone gets hurt.
"No one should have to live in fear of coming to work, and Sen. Sanders must call on his supporters—including his campaign staff—to elevate the discourse in this campaign and end their spread of hateful rhetoric."
Sanders, currently the frontrunner the win for Democratic nomination, previously spoke out against online harassment following allegations his supporters were attacking members of the Nevada Culinary Workers Union (NCWU) over a dispute about his flagship Medicare for All health insurance policy.
"Harassment of all forms is unacceptable to me, and we urge supporters of all campaigns not to engage in bullying or ugly personal attacks," Sanders said in a statement.
"Our campaign is building a multi-generational, multi-racial movement of love, compassion, and justice. We can certainly disagree on issues, but we must do it in a respectful manner."
Sanders has promised to cut the wealth of billionaires in half over the next 15 years by bringing in a tax on extreme wealth if elected president, targeting the top 0.1 percent of households which Bloomberg would fall under.
Sanders' campaign team have been contacted for comment about the claims from Bloomberg's office.
This infograph provided by Statista shows how much the top five candidates have spent on their campaigns in one month.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more