Bloomberg’s Meme Blowout

Michael R. Bloomberg, the billionaire businessman and former New York mayor, was all over Instagram this past week after he hired dozens of the internet’s biggest influencers to produce tongue-in-cheek memes to promote his bid for the presidency. He’s also poured money into Facebook ads, outspending Mr. Trump — whose campaign relies heavily on social media — by about five to one. And he’s paying his staff handsomely, in some cases nearly double what other candidates are offering. But will his digital-heavy, no-expense-spared strategy work? Hey, maybe! He’s currently polling just as high as some of the top candidates, and may qualify for the next Democratic primary debate — his first — on Wednesday.

Image Credit... Giacomo Bagnara

What’s Next? (Feb. 16-22)

What Happens in Vegas

How will Democrats avoid repeating Iowa’s caucus chaos when the pack of presidential hopefuls — or what’s left of them — head to Nevada for the next round of caucuses next Saturday? For starters, the party scrapped its plans to use a smartphone app similar to the one that played a role in Iowa’s results-counting debacle. Instead, officials will use an iPad, calculators and Google forms to tally the totals. (So, less software, but still plenty of room for human error.)

Delegate-wise, Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg remain neck and neck, which has some business leaders biting their nails. Mr. Sanders is a staunch critic of Wall Street, while Mr. Buttigieg has taken punches for being too cozy with wealthy elites.

And Then There Were Three

If you’re a Sprint customer, you’ll soon be under T-Mobile’s network umbrella. It’s been a tough road for the yearslong merger campaign, but now it’s really happening. The $26 billion deal has survived attacks by state attorneys general, who said it would lead to higher costs for consumers because of less competition — the United States will be down to just three major carriers. But thanks to backing from the Trump administration and the Justice Department, T-Mobile was able to elbow past antitrust regulations and proceed. It’s unclear whether customers will see a difference in service or pricing — or notice any change at all, at least for now.