Michael Bloomberg says he's 'looking at all the options' around presidential bid

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he is considering mounting an independent campaign for president.

Bloomberg told The Financial Times on Monday that he was "looking at all the options" when it comes to a bid.

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It's the first time he acknowledged a possible run.

The billionaire businessman's aides floated the idea last month that the former mayor could fill a gap in the center of the political spectrum.

He is distressed by the rise of Donald Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz among Republicans and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders among Democrats.

Bloomberg was a Democrat before becoming a Republican to run for mayor in 2001. He then became an independent.

He told the Financial Times that the U.S. public deserves "a lot better" and that he finds the level of "discourse and discussion distressingly banal and an outrage and an insult to the voters."