NoVA Audience Questions Michael Bloomberg Ahead Of Super Tuesday

MANASSAS, VA — Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent a large part of the day before Super Tuesday in Manassas, meeting with campaign volunteers in the afternoon and participating in an evening town hall at the Hylton Performing Arts Center hosted by Fox News. Several Northern Virginia residents were given the opportunity to ask questions at the town hall, including a gun rights activist who used the town hall to confront Bloomberg on his support for stronger gun control laws.

The one-hour town hall, co-hosted by Fox News political anchor Bret Baier and anchor Martha MacCallum, began at 6:30 p.m. Monday with Bloomberg touting his background as a manager. He pointed to his three terms as New York City mayor as providing him with better training to be president than candidates who have spent most of their careers as legislators.

"I’ve always thought we need a manager for the president's job," Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg also stressed he does not have an issue with many of Trump's policies. "A lot of my criticisms of Donald Trump are not his policies. It’s the way he’s doing it," Bloomberg told the audience.

The billionaire businessman had much harsher words for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), telling the audience that the Democratic presidential candidate's "ideas are crazy." When asked by the moderators whether he would vote for Sanders if he won the Democratic nomination for president, Bloomberg conceded he would vote for Sanders but would not be happy doing it.

The town hall came on the same day that Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigeg, who both had dropped out of the race, endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden to be the Democratic nominee. The candidates timed their decision to drop out and endorse Biden prior to Super Tuesday in order to consolidate support behind a centrist like Biden in their bid to prevent a Sanders nomination.

At the town hall, Bloomberg did not say he has any plans to follow the lead of these other Democrats by dropping out of the race. "I'm in it to win it," he said.

Among audience questions, Clarke Chitty from Bristow, introduced as a supporter of Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), asked Bloomberg to justify his support for banning certain types of firearms even though the former mayor's security detail is likely equipped with the same firearms and magazines that he seeks to ban Americans from owning.

"Does your life matter more than mine or my family's or these people's?" Chitty asked, pointing to the audience.

Bloomberg said he gets 40 or 50 threats every week, some of which are real. "I have a security detail. They're all retired police officers who are very well trained in firearms," he noted.

As for his views on gun control, Bloomberg said the only restrictions he supports are ones that "prevent us from selling guns to people with psychiatric problems, criminals, or people that are minors."

The former New York City mayor also argued that polls show up to 90 percent of National Rifle Association members believe there should be these types of restrictions.

After Bloomberg's response to Chitty's question, Fox News broke to a commercial, as members of the audience were expressing their displeasure with Bloomberg's response to Chitty's question.

As for who will be the nominee, Bloomberg said he believes there will be a brokered convention in Milwakee in July. The nominee doesn't have to be the candidate who wins the most delegates or wins the second most delegates during the primary season, according to Bloomberg. At the convention, Democrats could decide to nominate a candidate who won only a small number of delegates, he said.