Billionaire Michael Bloomberg wants to turn the White House into a large open-space corporate office, if elected president.
Assuring voters he has his finger on the pulse of America’s greatest needs, the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate took to Twitter to propose a new use for the East Room
“As president, I’ll turn the East Room into an open office plan, where I’ll sit with our team,” he tweeted late Monday afternoon.
Bloomberg also detailed his plans for the Oval Office.
“I’ll use the Oval Office for some official functions – never for tweeting – but the rest of the time, I’ll be where a leader should be: with the team,” he added.
As president, I’ll turn the East Room into an open office plan, where I’ll sit with our team.
I’ll use the Oval Office for some official functions – never for tweeting – but the rest of the time, I’ll be where a leader should be: with the team. https://t.co/zIU3ZL5uIv pic.twitter.com/jLwWKJCmxw
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) December 30, 2019
In effect, Bloomberg will eschew the president’s formal workspace, where he (or she) confers with heads of state, diplomats and other dignitaries, in addition to his staff, to hang out with his subordinates.
A real man of the people, that Bloomberg.
Then again, the plan plays into his campaign tagline: “We’re All In This Together.”
His campaign just moved to Times Square, in the old New York Times building, with Bloomberg reworking the blueprints there as well.
The new office will feature an open layout with a desk out in the open for Bloomberg, Politico reported, adding that it’s “a move in keeping with his ethos as a businessman and mayor.”
“In sports, the coach or manager is right there with the players, giving directions, drawing on white boards, huddling during timeouts, motivating and inspiring — and picking someone up when they’ve made a mistake,” Bloomberg wrote in an email to staff. “Managers in every organization should be performing those same roles. Walls just get in the way, by stifling communication and making collaboration more difficult. Some people like to build walls. I like to tear them down.”
The 77-year-old former New York City mayor is the 11th-richest person in the world, according to Forbes, and he formally launched his presidential bid in late November.
And while he remains well behind the front-runners in the race, he is spending like a billionaire.
Bloomberg’s campaign is projected to spend upwards of $400 million by March, with the excessive ad spending exceeding what former President Barack Obama spent on his entire 2012 reelection bid, according to The New York Times.
So, in addition to reworking the White House blueprints, if elected, he’s laying waste to the blueprints of campaign finances and the old Times building.
Suffice it to say, social media wasn’t too keen on the idea of an open-space Executive Mansion.
What an odd thing to promise. https://t.co/EZ8XExlt2e
— Byron York (@ByronYork) December 30, 2019
Bloomberg 2020: Turn the White House into a @WeWork. https://t.co/IwdjtDxHj0
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) December 30, 2019
open office White House floor plan feels like a Veep plot https://t.co/p8nXd6gVgs
— Brandon Wall (@Walldo) December 30, 2019
"Now we're entering the East Room — where the bodies of Lincoln and FDR lay in repose, where LBJ signed the Civil Rights Act and Reagan signed the INF Treaty with Gorbachev, where Obama announced the death of Bin Laden, and where Todd now runs the West Wing March Madness pool." pic.twitter.com/jBTGv4qMzp
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) December 30, 2019
Has the fire marshal approved this? https://t.co/eUutQlUZ8x
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) December 30, 2019
This looks like a newsroom. It looks awful. https://t.co/z4KksHzbv0
— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) December 30, 2019
As President, I’ll turn the White House Press Briefing Room back into a swimming pool.
It will still operate as the briefing room, but correspondents will wear scuba suits and briefings will be held under water. 🏊🏻🐟 pic.twitter.com/OjDHPIfQZB
— Tom Fitzgerald (@FitzFox5DC) December 31, 2019
It's actually fine for the President of the United States not to work in a cubicle. Talk about something real. https://t.co/lswJxbTR2p
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) December 30, 2019
Every one of Bloomberg’s staffers as he comes around their station pic.twitter.com/Qf1Z9B0Qon
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) December 31, 2019
1. Open plan offices don’t have any level of privacy, so this is functionally impossible for any kind of classified, security clearance-level work.
2. Open plan offices are statistically proven to be less productive! They eviscerate focus and don’t actually foster collaboration.
— Ella Dawson (@brosandprose) December 31, 2019
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The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
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