'Mini Mike' Bloomberg illegally buying Democrat nomination: Trump

United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday accused former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg of attempting to illegally buy the Democratic Party nomination for presidency and reiterated his claim that the established Democrats were trying to take the election away from Bernie Sanders -- the US senator who is in the race with Bloomberg for Democratic nomination.

"What Mini Mike is doing is nothing less than a large scale illegal campaign contribution. He is "spreading" money all over the place, only to have recipients of his cash payments, many former opponents, happily joining or supporting his campaign. Isn't that called a payoff?" Trump tweeted.

"Mini is illegally buying the Democrat Nomination. They are taking it away from Bernie again. Mini Mike, Major Party Nominations are not for sale! Good luck in the debate tomorrow night and remember, no standing on boxes!" he added.

Trump's statement has come ahead of the Wednesday's Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas, which would mark Bloomberg's first appearance on stage with his 2020 rivals.

The Billionaire's standing in national polls has improved after he personally spent more than USD 400 million television, radio and digital ads publicizing his candidacy, as per a report by CNN.