Mayor Michael Bloomberg said — again — that he's not running for president, adding in a television interview that he wouldn't win anyway.
"Nobody's going to elect me president of the United States," he told Dan Rather for a program that will air Tuesday on cable's HDNet channel. "What I'd like to do is to be able to influence the dialogue. I'm a citizen."
The billionaire left the Republican Party recently to become an independent, throwing into overdrive the speculation that he will make a run for the White House.
Bloomberg likes to throw water on the rumors while simultaneously keeping them alive behind the scenes. His aides are not bashful about promoting the idea that he could jump into the race next year as a self-financed independent candidate.
Bloomberg told Rather he has no interest in higher office and owes the next two and a half years of his final term to the people of New York.
"My job is to represent them and put that ahead of any of my own personal aspirations," he said.