Trump: Bloomberg, Klobuchar ‘choked’ in Democratic debate

President Trump on Thursday mocked Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) for their performance in the Democratic debate a night earlier, saying the two centrist candidates “choked.”

The president riffed extensively on the debate during a rally in Colorado Springs, Colo., picking out Bloomberg and Klobuchar in particular for their performance.

Trump, who has largely avoided attacking the Minnesota senator thus far, pointed to an exchange in which she asked Pete Buttigieg if he was suggesting she was dumb for being unable to name the president of Mexico.

“How about Klobuchar. Did you see her? She choked,” Trump said, pretending to choke to the delight of the crowd. “She couldn’t breathe.” 

“How about that? ‘Are you saying I’m dumb?'” he continued. “That was the end of her campaign in my book. You don’t say that, even if it’s true.”

TRUMP ON DEM DEBATE: “How about Klobuchar? She choked…”

“She choked. She couldn’t breathe!”

“Alfred E. Neuman looked at her and said something slightly derogatory. And she said ‘Are you accusing me of being dumb?’ Who would make a statement like that?” pic.twitter.com/hBUeEp7ycD

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 21, 2020

Trump also bashed Bloomberg at length, ripping into the former New York City mayor for his first appearance on the Democratic debate stage.

“It got very big ratings, and you know what? Mini Mike didn’t do well last night,” he said. “I was going to send him a note saying, ‘it’s not easy doing what I do, is it?”

Trump has fixated on Bloomberg for weeks since he entered the Democratic field, repeatedly attacking him on Twitter and mocking him for his height. Bloomberg has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in his own money flooding the airwaves with ads attacking the president.

Bloomberg and Klobuchar are both seeking to consolidate support among moderate voters, while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) remains at or near the top of most polls in the primary.