Paul Kengor: Michael Bloomberg & the Primanti’s vote

I was sitting in Primanti’s at Market Square with my 12-year-old son after escaping “The Nutcracker” at the Benedum. Almost as eye-opening as the Arabian Dance (I said almost) was a political ad on the large TV screen. Rudely interrupting the Pittsburgh ambience was a New Yorker, Michael Bloomberg, who insisted on subverting the distinctive smell of smashed fries and coleslaw with a campaign ad. This is the campaign to convince Americans that the ex-mayor and ongoing billionaire should be president of the United States.

The ad, unnoticed by a room of Pittsburghers more interested in their beers and cheesesteaks, is a testimony to how out of touch the former New York mayor is with people outside New York City.

The ad, part of Bloomberg’s $100 million-plus TV blitz for the Democratic nomination, touted how “Mike” was ready to take on everything from guns to coal. The screen beamed an April 2018 blurb from (fittingly) The New Yorker magazine: “Michael Bloomberg Takes on the Coal Industry.” The audio voiceover boasted that Bloomberg had helped “shut down hundreds” of coal plants — no doubt a big winner among West Virginians and Southwestern Pennsylvanians.

Big Mike was ready to “beat Big Coal.” Like several Bloomberg ads, it took aim at “the coal lobby,” running footage of a manufacturing plant that could be a steel plant anywhere in the Pittsburgh region. All of Bloomberg’s ads promise job gains while targeting the very industries where many men in our region seek job security. The ads would work in Seattle, San Francisco or Manhattan, but not in coal and steel country.

Bear in mind that this ad ran on KDKA-TV, in a region where people depend upon jobs precisely in these industries Bloomberg is targeting. What’s next for his campaign? Ads railing against “Big Oil” in Texas? “Big Agriculture” in the Midwest?

The whole spectacle reveals Bloomberg’s tone-deafness, especially in trying to reach people with no clue about him.

One wonders what the Big Apple mayor would do if he strolled into Primanti’s for a photo op. Picture the scene: He introduces himself as “Mike” before pulling out a white-cloth napkin and barking at the waitress to remove the blasted fries from his sandwich and pass the Grey Poupon. Iron City? Bring me a damned Dom Perignon! And turn off that noisy football game!

And yet, every four years, Bloomberg deigns to grace us in the hinterland with the exciting prospect of voting for him for president — assuming we folk even know who he is.

I recall about four years ago doing a Fox News Channel show in which the host picked my brain regarding presidential prospects among those considering a White House run. When he asked what I thought of Bloomberg’s chances, I said, “Who?” He repeated: “Michael Bloomberg.” I responded: “Who’s that?” He said: “He’s the mayor of New York!” I replied incredulously: “Oh, that Bloomberg. To be president of the United States?!” The host summed up: “I’ll take that as a no.”

Good conclusion. Bloomberg’s prospects for 2020 are about as good as they were any other year. He’s a New York man. Manhattan is his political horizon.

Michael Bloomberg might get the votes of New Yorkers, but not those of coal and steel country. He’ll never get the Primanti’s vote.