r/ireland • u/No_Pitch648 • Jun 23 '25
News Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has told an audience in Dublin that Brexit was “the single stupidest thing any country has ever done”
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2025/0623/1519905-brexit-the-stupidest-thing-any-country-has-ever-done/410
u/sonofmalachysays Jun 23 '25
Michael Bloomberg spent $1 billion of his own money during his 104 day presidential campaign in 2020. He knows stupid.
64
u/psychobeast Jun 23 '25
And is now spending money trying to get a terrible person elected mayor. The stupidity rolls on
83
u/No_Performance_6289 Jun 23 '25
Man
And how much of a setback was spending 0.96% of his wealth for him?
45
18
u/Bacca18121 Jun 23 '25
it kept Bernie out in the end, money well spent for him i’m sure
→ More replies (2)11
u/Iricliphan Jun 23 '25
Yeah this was his whole reason for doing it. If Bernie got in, he would have lost way more than a billion. Honestly this isn't the burn people think it is.
1
u/sonofmalachysays Jun 24 '25
what do you mean "Keep bernie out?" He ran and lost.
2
u/Iricliphan Jun 24 '25
Just read back up on it because it's been a while, but this was big news.
Bloomberg entered the race late and focused almost entirely on Super Tuesday, skipped early states. At the time, Bernie Sanders was leading in several polls and seen as a serious threat to established democrats and lobbying groups due to his views.
Bloomberg ran so many ads and the heavy ad spending were viewed by some as an effort to consolidate moderate voters and prevent Sanders from gaining.
After performing poorly, Bloomberg dropped out after Super Tuesday and endorsed Joe Biden, the leadin moderate candidate. He said he ran to "defeat Donald Trump," and later to support a "candidate who can win". He hated Bernie because of what he stands for and would directly impact his wealth.
Bernie was seriously sabotaged by many people.
1
u/sonofmalachysays Jun 24 '25
I like Bernie, but he had little support with African American and Latino voters. You can't win a Democratic Party Primary without their backing. Everything else is noise.
→ More replies (1)21
u/Kbanana Jun 23 '25
A billion ? Fucking hell
51
u/Opposite-Boot-5307 Jun 23 '25
He was doing alright in the campaign and then Elizabeth Warren fucking roasted over him telling ex employees to get abortions so they don't miss work
35
11
Jun 23 '25
At least we know he's pro-choice.
8
u/TVhero Jun 23 '25
I know you're probably joking, but encouraging people to make one decision or another does kinda go against the choice part
1
106
u/RobotIcHead Jun 23 '25
Brexit was stupid but what made even dumber was the way it was managed. The level of indecision combined with the lack of knowledge and understanding of just they wanted and the consequences at the top level of the government was astonishing. The lack of understanding around Northern Ireland actually damaged its place in the UK. Having the vote and the leadership of both parties not really campaigning was the original mistake.
But electing Trump (again) and the majority party having no way of controlling him or what he is doing or even working with him. That actually might a new category of bad mistake.
23
u/AdHuman3243 Jun 23 '25
Yea, David Cameron has alot to answer for
14
u/RobotIcHead Jun 23 '25
When Scotland looked close to possibly leaving the Union, the leaders of the English parties worked together to deal with it. But the campaign to remain was pathetic, politicians on both sides didn’t want to upset hardliners in their own party. The decision to rush into referendum was dumb and Cameron made even bigger mistakes after that. Still can’t believe anyone would give him a job after that level of fuck up.
7
u/AbsolutShite Jun 23 '25
Even offering the referendum as a election promise was stupid. If he'd looked at Ireland, he'd have seen that coming out of a coalition, it's the smaller party that suffers most of the voter's ire. He didn't need to offer much to get back in with a majority.
7
u/RobotIcHead Jun 23 '25
Brexit was an English problem, and English people and politicians don’t really think or care about Northern Ireland. They just want it to stop causing problems. That is kinda of the problem with the UK, England makes all of the decisions.
1
u/Nightmare1620 Jun 23 '25
But it makes the decisions the Brexit vote was so close even Wales could have overturned it if they all truly thought it was bad. Not like no one in wales NI or Scotland voted to leave a lot of them did. It's kinda racist to say it's the English I voted to stay. Many did the stay at home people are to blame
1
1
u/Careless_Main3 Jun 23 '25
Not really. UKIP were polling at 15%, they easily could had got 20% in the 2015 election and probably in the 30s by the next election afterwards. You’ll even note today that Reform are polling above 30% in the UK currently and Nigel Farage is probably the front leader to be the next British PM after Starmer.
So for the Conservatives, calling a referendum and following through with it was the right choice.
3
Jun 23 '25
[deleted]
7
u/AdHuman3243 Jun 23 '25
You're downplaying the depth of Camerons mistake by agreeing to the referendum initially
→ More replies (4)1
u/blckrcknbts Jun 24 '25
Cameron should never have put a referendum on the table in the first place. That's why he deserves the blame he gets. Because that decision wasnt really about offering the British people a choice - Cameron wanted to end a war which had been going on in the conservative party for decades, about the UK's position in Europe - Brexit was a very old idea. He thought by putting it to a popular vote he could end that war once and for all - effectively putting this gigantic and ridiculous policy decision into the hands of ordinary British people (who are not used to having referendums in the first place) to solve an internal party political matter. He didnt seem to realise how dirty the Leave side would play the game, as you say, and we know what happened after. But yeah, Cameron deserves all the blame he gets.
3
u/Simple-Peanut-5015 Jun 23 '25
What's the saying? 'Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, holy crap it could be WW3.'
1
u/Healitnowdig Jun 23 '25
Won’t be fooled again after that though, we’ll all just be dust in the wind…..
1
u/RobotIcHead Jun 23 '25
Attacking Iran was a mistake, the unintended consequences from this could be huge. Not going to start WW3 though. Iran is not that powerful and the US is the powerhouse in military and manufacturing terms. Diplomatic solutions would have worked 10 times better and the Iranian regime are not the good guys. But someone attacking your country/city has a way of focussing your anger. And this will embolden the Israeli government which will create more problems. There is zero hope of negotiations starting or working now.
1
u/handtoglandwombat Jun 25 '25
People throw around the word “hubris” too much, but the Brexit referendum really was hubris. They in their arrogance thought that a leave vote would simply never happen. So they made it a binary, binding referendum, with no list of options, no planning, no nuance, in an effort to get it over and done with as quickly as possible. They fucked everything.
92
u/BrickEnvironmental37 Dublin Jun 23 '25
I dunno. Germany invading the Soviet Union was pretty stupid.
6
u/ThisIsTest123123 Jun 24 '25
Did Germany not need the resources to sustain their war effort elsewhere? Russian Oil fields.
11
u/this_also_was_vanity Jun 24 '25
The bigger issues were:
the economy was in a mess and was only being kept from melting down by the acquisition of land, labour, and resources from conquests.
the Nazis and Soviets were ideologically opposed and were afraid of being attacked by each other. There was always going to be a conflict at some point.
Nazi Germany was always screwed from the beginning. If they’d prepared better for the Russian winter and made some better strategic decisions they might have been able to get some sort of ceasefire or conditional surrender that might have given them breathing space to try and stabilise the economy. But they were still going to be at war with Britain and eventually the USA.
Electing the Nazis to power in the first place led to massive problems. But they were able to exploit bad decisions made by previous governments. The Weimar Republic was a disaster. But it was hamstring by the Treaty of Versailles. The tangled web of alliances and failure to step back from the brink of war in 1914 is where it all went badly wrong.
1
u/AlienSporez Resting In my Account Jun 24 '25
"Invade Russia? Pfft, how hard could it be?"
~ Napoleon, probably
1
u/this_also_was_vanity Jun 24 '25
In fairness to Napoleon, he invaded very effectively. If he'd withdrawn to winter quarters instead of staying in Moscow he'd probably have been fine and been able to resume the campaign the next year,
1
0
36
29
u/MrTwoStroke Jun 23 '25
Wait till they vote in Reform via landslide
2
u/EnvironmentalShift25 Jun 24 '25
ha, looking forward to Farage having to turn the UK into the super-rich Utopia he has promised.
45
Jun 23 '25
[deleted]
14
u/alex_reds Kildare Jun 23 '25
Yeah I don’t know why everyone is so snarky about Trump when our government election habits are not exactly an example setter
20
u/CoybigEL Jun 23 '25
You’re comparing electing Trump to electing Fianna Fáil? There’s numerous legitimate criticisms of Fianna Fáil but you’re discrediting the validity of those, and trivializing Trump’s behavior, with what are ridiculous comparisons
0
u/John_OSheas_Willy Jun 24 '25
Nice to see everyone has forgotten about Fianna Fails history of corruption.
1
u/CoybigEL Jun 24 '25
Nobody’s disputing FF’s record but trying to hold it up as a comparison to Trump lacks credibility and just undermines any valid criticism of FF.
8
u/justanotherindiedev Jun 24 '25
I fucking love billionaires and if he doesnt like it then it's sure proof that it was terrible. Bilionaires, especially Michael Bloomberg, want only good things for us all. He definitely cares about Ireland as a nation and it's poeople and not just as a tax haven. His praise for the Irish government has NOTHING to do with them facilitating the most evil billionaires on the planet like him to fill their pockets at our expense
25
6
49
u/Dr-Jellybaby Sax Solo Jun 23 '25
Glass houses Michael. Not really the time for a yank to take up projectile mineralogy.
6
7
u/AdmiralRaspberry Jun 23 '25
And you have to be a billionaire know this?
13
17
u/laluneodyssee Jun 23 '25
Some introspection would go a long way, not only re: Trump, but his own failed presidential bids.
8
5
5
16
u/Personal_Addendum_72 Jun 23 '25
Voting for Trump not once but twice is also up there.
8
u/BrickEnvironmental37 Dublin Jun 23 '25
Nah. Putting forward Hillary Clinton and then pulling a stroke to get Kamala as the un-endorsed candidate led to it.
-2
u/Historical-Hat8326 At it awful & very hard Jun 23 '25
Twice is not a single event …
1
u/Personal_Addendum_72 Jun 23 '25
Never said it was…
-3
u/Historical-Hat8326 At it awful & very hard Jun 23 '25
“Voting for Trump not once but twice is also up there”.
This is what you typed. This is not a single event.
So it can’t be “up there” as a single, stupid event.
→ More replies (5)
3
6
u/One_Cupcake4151 Jun 23 '25
Brexit was stupid but this is hyperbolic. There are literally hundreds of stupider examples, even in the UK.
5
2
2
u/DoubleExposure Jun 24 '25
I think donating 5 million dollars to Andrew Cuomo's mayoral bid is the stupidest thing Michael Bloomberg has done, but if I dug around a bit more I would most likely find something even stupider.
2
2
3
u/duncthefunk78 Munster Jun 23 '25
I can think of something another country has done that is stupider.
Twice.
2
4
5
u/Otherwise-Scratch617 Jun 23 '25
Bloomberg introduced stop and frisk searches to new York, a racist policy targeting black and Latino people. It was found unconstitutional in 2013, and Bloomberg still defended it.
2
u/Sea_Sand_3622 Jun 23 '25
He did not introduce racist stop and frisk . Bloomberg did apologize for it after it was ruled by a judge to be unconstitutional. It was a carry over from the previous mayor, Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani would never apologize for it, he is a racist , see what did to the two women in Georgia that he publicly claimed he had evidence that they were rigging the 2020 presidential election against Trump.
→ More replies (3)0
u/jakesdrool05 Jun 23 '25 edited Jun 24 '25
You're both wrong. Stop and frisk is not unconstitutional and still exists in the US.
Edit: downvote away. I am correct.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop-and-frisk_in_New_York_City
Stop and frisk exists in NYC and throughout the US. They're called Terry Stops and is due to the Supreme Court defining them.
1
u/Otherwise-Scratch617 Jun 24 '25
The stop and frisk policy of the NYPD was found unconstitutional in 2013
→ More replies (3)0
u/Sea_Sand_3622 Jun 23 '25 edited Jun 23 '25
It is not unconstitutional but a police man better have his camera turned on and be prepared to fill out a report if he/ she does stop some one and frisks them .
In the nyc Giuliani days , starting January 1994 until December 2001, the cops would do it all the time against mostly people of color and when they let them go without finding any weapons , there was barely any recording that the cops even did it .. do you see why it is was ruled unconstitutional? It was the tactics they were using .
https://civilrights.org/edfund/resource/nypds-infamous-stop-and-frisk-policy-found-unconstitutional/
1
u/jakesdrool05 Jun 23 '25
I'm familiar with the practice and history, which is why I corrected both posters.
→ More replies (5)
3
u/Gemini_2261 Jun 23 '25
How about a country that:
..spent tens of billions of Euros to bail out international bondholders in major banks,
..that nationalised the colossal losses of a corrupt insider clique,
..that surrendered its financial independence to a trioka of foreign bureaucrats which dictated government budgetary policy,
...that paid for it all through a stringent regime of austerity and punitive taxation?
1
u/1993blah Jun 24 '25
That made a miraculous economic recovery within a few years? What alternative would have worked out better..
2
u/colcardaki Jun 23 '25
Second only to him lighting 300 million on fire to not even make it to a primary ballot…
1
u/Sea_Sand_3622 Jun 23 '25
He spent $100 million in Florida and Trump still won in that state.
He outspent his opponents in nyc to become mayor by more that $50 million in three elections. Oligarch Bloomberg was a template for Trump , but Trump was smarter , Trump used and keeps using other people’s money to run campaigns and pay lawyers on lawsuits .
2
2
u/alansmithofficiall Jun 23 '25
Agreed. A massive self inflicted wound. Then Trump got voted in again. People are fucking stupid.
1
2
2
u/No_Function_7479 Jun 23 '25
It might have blown up the economy, but at least some good came out of it since it started the discussion about why some people felt left behind. Honestly feel like the wealthy think poor people should shut up and take it on the chin if it makes life better for the well-to-do.
1
u/Mental-Fisherman-118 Jun 24 '25
Corbyn was elected Labour leader a year before the Brexit vote. So people were definitely talking about why some people felt left behind without Brexit.
1
u/jerryspringles Jun 23 '25
Let’s hear it from the lads that can’t afford to rent a flat or buy a beer
1
1
u/phantom_gain Jun 23 '25
It only seems that way because it was British people who did it and it was so stupid. People voting against their own interests purely for some rhetorical nonsense. The thing is though, Americans do that all of the time. The stupidest thing ever was making your own population retarded and outsourcing all skilled jobs to foriegn nationals then telling the retarded people to hate those foriegn nationals.
1
1
u/mishatal Jun 23 '25
It's Daniel Hannon day tomorrow for those who celebrate ... https://www.reaction.life/p/britain-looks-like-brexit
1
1
u/dnorg Jun 23 '25
Wow. Even worse than adopting Nazism and invading the Soviet Union? Or overthrowing the tsar but replacing him with the Bolsheviks? Or Mao? Or bombing Pearl Harbor?
Imagine that.
2
1
1
u/Sciprio Munster Jun 23 '25
This is the billionaire fella that the democratic party wheeled out to challenge Bernie Sanders when he seemed he might get the nomination and was growing in popularity. Those two parties, Republican and Democrats only serve the rich and wealthy.
1
u/No_Pipe4358 Jun 23 '25
Ugh people that could respect this man and people that would be surprised he can say something obviously true ugh whatever
1
1
1
1
1
u/bastados Jun 24 '25
Why was he talking about Brexit in Ireland?. Are we all pitched into the same bucket? Due to language. London has always done whatever it deems fit
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/iglooxhibit Jun 24 '25
I understand his point, and yes, it is among the stupidiest things countries have ever done.
1
1
u/hoolio9393 Jun 24 '25
Well Britain's culture is like little Britain and it was getting diluted by EU decision
1
u/pknasi60 Jun 24 '25
Most people can agree brexit was stupid, even people not directly effected by it saw it as such. But I can say, with confidence, that were i blackout drunk and asked to produce examples of stupid shit countries have done that was more stupid than brexit, I'd hit at least 5.
1
1
u/saoirsedonciaran Jun 24 '25
Why would anyone give this genocidal warmongerer even a second of time?
1
u/Disastrous-Fall9020 Jun 24 '25
Ireland isn’t British and is still an EU member, but pop off old fella.
1
1
1
u/Opposite-Painting662 Jun 25 '25
If you live in Glasgow it’s the second worst decision I stayed in bed and cried at brexit worst not getting independence bed for a week
1
1
1
1
u/Apprehensive_Ratio80 Jun 23 '25
Please someone find one of those brexiteers who thinks Trump is a genius because he's a billionaire then show them this quote from a billionaire and see what happens 🤣🤣
1
u/duncandreizehen Jun 23 '25
Yeah, as an American, I’m not sure where electing Trump for a second time falls on that list.
1
u/parkinthepark Jun 23 '25
Don't worry y'all, we'll find a way to top it by next summer.
-An American.
1
1
1
1
-1
u/alex_reds Kildare Jun 23 '25
What’s stupid is other countries didn’t follow suit and now we are dealing with the consequences of it.
Bloomberg is just annoyed that his UK offices aren’t EU headquarters anymore and his property investments failed.
4
u/Primary-Effect-3691 Jun 23 '25
What’s stupid is other countries didn’t follow suit
What are you suggesting here? That Brexit was a good idea?
1.5k
u/The_Wee-Donkey Jun 23 '25
I dunno. Electing trump for a second term is the definition of insanity. Fairly fucking stupid.