White House hopeful Michael Bloomberg Michael BloombergThe Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Latest with the COVID-19 relief bill negotiations The Memo: 2020 is all about winning Florida The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by The Air Line Pilots Association - Trump, Biden renew push for Latino support MORE on Sunday dismissed President Trump Donald John TrumpBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Military leaders asked about using heat ray on protesters outside White House: report Powell warns failure to reach COVID-19 deal could 'scar and damage' economy MORE's accusations that the former New York City mayor and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) are trying to "rig" the 2020 primary contest against Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersSenate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Hillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll Schumer, Sanders call for Senate panel to address election security MORE (I-Vt.), saying that Trump "lies about everything."

"This is what happens when someone like me suddenly rises in the polls. All of a sudden, the other candidates get scared, and I think Donald Trump knows that I can beat him," Bloomberg told reporters at a campaign stop in Los Angeles. "And I think that’s why he comes back with those kinds of comments."

VIDEO: I asked ⁦@MikeBloomberg⁩ about the president’s tweets and accusation that he and the DNC are trying to rig the election against ⁦@BernieSanders⁩. Bloomberg called the president a liar and said “I stand twice as tall,” on the “stage that matters.” pic.twitter.com/uLT7AHw6Bn — Tim Perry (@tperry518) February 2, 2020

In a series of overnight tweets, Trump accused Bloomberg of working with the DNC to get on the Democratic primary debate stage and "rig the election" against Sanders. He also claimed without providing evidence that Bloomberg was negotiating with the DNC to "have the right to stand on boxes" during the debates.

ADVERTISEMENT

The comments came on the heels of the DNC's abrupt move to eliminate a fundraising requirement to qualify for a primary debate in Las Vegas later this month. Under the new criteria, candidates may reach a delegates threshold or a polling threshold ahead of the Feb. 19 debate.

Bloomberg, who launched a long-shot White House bid in November, has been self-funding his campaign and failed to reach fundraising markers for previous debates.

The billionaire businessman said on Sunday that it shouldn't come as surprise that Trump made the accusations about him and the DNC.

"I will stand on my accomplishments and what I’ve done to bring this country together and get things done. I’ve been doing it for a long time. I stand twice as tall as he does on the stage that matters," he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

Julie Wood, Bloomberg's national press secretary, added in a statement that Trump "is a pathological liar who lies about everything: his fake hair, his obesity, and his spray-on tan."

Placing a strong emphasis on Super Tuesday states, Bloomberg has spent more than $200 million on advertising for his unconventional 2020 campaign. The former mayor is not competing in early voting states such as New Hampshire and Iowa, where voters will head to the polls on Monday.

His campaign spent roughly $11 million on a Super Bowl advertisement that airs Sunday and touts his gun control efforts. Bloomberg made a nod to the ad in a tweet earlier Sunday, saying that it "looks like our ads are keeping [Trump] up at night."

Recent polls indicate that Bloomberg is gaining popularity among Democratic primary voters. A national Morning Consult survey released last week showed that he had reached 12 percent support among likely voters. He's still far behind former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenThe Memo: Warning signs flash for Trump on debates Senate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden National postal mail handlers union endorses Biden MORE and Sanders in the polls.

Bloomberg's campaign said on Friday that it was "thrilled" by the DNC's decision to drop the fundraising requirement for the Nevada debate. But the move has sparked opposition from other 2020 Democrats.

"The DNC changing its debate criteria to ignore grassroots donations seems tailor-made to get Mike Bloomberg on the debate stage in February. Having Americans willing to invest in your campaign is a key sign of a successful campaign," entrepreneur Andrew Yang tweeted.