TWITTER WAR: Bloomberg and Trump insult each other online

President Donald Trump attacked Democratic primary candidate Michael Bloomberg on Twitter Thursday morning and the former mayor of New York City wasted no time counter-punching.

Trump tweeted: "Mini Mike Bloomberg is a LOSER who has money but can’t debate and has zero presence, you will see. He reminds me of a tiny version of Jeb “Low Energy” Bush, but Jeb has more political skill and has treated the Black community much better than Mini!"

The tweet was a reply to an CNBC post showing a photo of a towering Trump cutting a red ribbon in front of stacks of paper and a much shorter Bloomberg. The tweet included a link to an article titled 'Mike Bloomberg is paying online influencers to post memes for his 2020 campaign.'

Trump continued the assault:  "Mini Mike is a 5’4” mass of dead energy who does not want to be on the debate stage with these professional politicians. No boxes please. He hates Crazy Bernie and will, with enough money, possibly stop him. Bernie’s people will go nuts!"

About 25 minutes later, Bloomberg fired back:" @realDonaldTrump  - we know many of the same people in NY. Behind your back they laugh at you & call you a carnival barking clown. They know you inherited a fortune & squandered it with stupid deals and incompetence. I have the record & the resources to defeat you. And I will."

Not to be outdone, Bloomberg tweeted a GIF from the movie, Gladiator, with the caption: "The time for honoring yourself will soon be at an end."