An interview Michael Bloomberg did with Firing Line in September is getting renewed attention this week, given his getting into the 2020 Democratic presidential primary race.

Margaret Hoover said, “The United States currently accounts for about 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. China accounts for roughly 30 percent… Even if we get to net zero, how do you get China, India, and the other countries to be good partners?”

.@MikeBloomberg tells @FiringLineShow that China's leader is addressing pollution to satisfy constituents & secure his political future.

"The Communist Party wants to stay in power in China and they listen to the public," he says. pic.twitter.com/B9SoAXJwrM — Firing Line with Margaret Hoover (@FiringLineShow) September 27, 2019

Bloomberg said that China “is doing a lot” now and said, “The communist party wants to stay in power in China, and they listen to the public. When the public says ‘I can’t breathe the air’ — Xi Jinping is not a dictator. He has to satisfy his constituents or he’s not going to survive.”

Hoover asked, “He’s not a dictator?”

“No, he has a constituency to answer to,” Bloomberg said.

As they went back and forth, Hoover expressed skepticism of the idea that the Chinese government would listen to the people like that, bringing up the protests in Hong Kong.

The interview has spread around online recently, with Bloomberg facing serious criticisms for offering that defense of China:

This video is remarkable, asked about US a greenhouse gas emissions compared to China, Michael Bloomberg goes into a full throated defence of the regime in Beijing on the environment, on their lack of democracy. I can’t believe how bad this is.

pic.twitter.com/gxLz4eKetJ — Brian Lilley (@brianlilley) November 28, 2019

Bloomberg: Xi Jinping “is not a dictator.” I disagree. pic.twitter.com/Z4vsoOnF3Q — Roger Cohen (@NYTimesCohen) December 1, 2019

Just a reminder that billionaires like Bloomberg view democracy, at best, as negotiable but mostly an impediment. They’re more than willing to take us down a road to a purely oligarchical system that merely gestures at democracy. https://t.co/netBL5m9mJ — Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) December 1, 2019

People talk about the authoritarian threat of the extreme right and extreme left. But there's also an authoritarian threat from so-called moderates, who are all the more dangerous because they often have strong support from powerful institutions. https://t.co/T5A3UFDZAM — Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) December 1, 2019

Lololololololol. I swear to god, I thought this was like something @KFILE dug up from years ago. No, this is what he’s saying NOW?! https://t.co/W1eEfdkODn — Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) December 1, 2019

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