'I stand twice as tall as he does': Bloomberg responds to Trump's gibes about his height

William Cummings | USA TODAY

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Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg responded to President Donald Trump's Twitter attacks on Sunday, saying the president is afraid of losing to him the general election.

Trump posted tweets early Sunday tearing into Bloomberg, whom he mocked as "Mini Mike" in reference to Bloomberg's height.

In one, he slammed the billionaire media mogul for allowing the news organization that bears his name to cover the White House but not his own campaign, or other 2020 Democrats.

"Mini Mike is part of the Fake News," Trump said. "They are all working together. In fact, Bloomberg isn’t covering himself (too boring to do), or other Dems. Only Trump. That sounds fair! It’s all the Fake News Media, and that’s why nobody believes in them any more."

In another, he decried the anti-Trump ads Bloomberg is running across the nation.

"Many of the ads you are watching were paid for by Mini Mike Bloomberg. He is going nowhere, just wasting his money," Trump said.

"Looks like our ads are keeping you up at night. We've got one in particular you should watch today," replied Bloomberg, who is running a campaign ad during Sunday's Super Bowl.

Looks like our ads are keeping you up at night. We've got one in particular you should watch today. https://t.co/sOS3aT8H0T — Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) February 2, 2020

Trump's tweets also referred to the Democratic National Committee's decision to change the threshold for the Feb. 19 debate in Nevada as an attempt to "rig the election" against Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Several Democratic candidates have also objected to that change, which could make it possible for Bloomberg to make the cut for the debate.

"Mini Mike is now negotiating both to get on the Democrat Primary debate stage, and to have the right to stand on boxes, or a lift, during the debates. This is sometimes done, but really not fair!" Trump tweeted. The president also claimed Bloomberg was demanding a box to stand on during the debate in an excerpt from a Fox News interview that was shared on social media.

Mini Mike is now negotiating both to get on the Democrat Primary debate stage, and to have the right to stand on boxes, or a lift, during the debates. This is sometimes done, but really not fair! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2020

Bloomberg spokeswoman Julie Wood slammed the president's claim.

"The president is lying. He is a pathological liar who lies about everything: his fake hair, his obesity, and his spray-on tan," Wood said in a statement.

The first clip from Sean Hannity's big interview with the president features POTUS talking about Michael Bloomberg's height. pic.twitter.com/iRdX3fFUTg — Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) February 2, 2020

In one tweet, Bloomberg included a video of his response to a reporter's question about Trump's attacks.

"The president lies," Bloomberg said. "He lies about everything. So, it shouldn't be a surprise that he said things like that."

"I stand twice as tall as he does on the stage, the stage that matters," he said.