Brian Williams Mara Gay
© Getty/MSNBC/Twitter
Thursday on MSNBC's "The Eleventh Hour" with Brian Williams, New York Times Editorial Board Member Mara Gay and the host accepted without question a tweet that (jokingly) said that Michael Bloomberg could have given every American one million dollars with the five hundred million dollars he spent on his short-lived presidential campaign. In reality, $500 million divided by 327 million Americans is about $1.53 per person.

"When I read it tonight on social media, it kind of all became clear," Williams said.

The tweet read: "Bloomberg spent $500 million on ads. The U.S. Population, 327 million. He could have given each American $1 million and have had lunch money left over."


"It's an incredible way of putting it," Williams said.

"It's an incredible way of putting it," Gay said. "It's true. It's disturbing."

The twitter user they cited has since made their account private, after perhaps the most successful instance of trolling public figures in positions of authority in history.


See the much criticized tweet: