“We’ve trained our eyes on him. Something the rest of the field has failed to do eight debates prior and a year in a campaign,” a top aide said in an interview.

Bloomberg telegraphed the nuke-Bernie approach Monday when his campaign released a digital ad slamming Sanders for his history on gun control and drawing a contrast to the ex-mayor’s lengthy record of fighting the National Rifle Association…

Further muddying Bloomberg’s strategy is his pledge to fund the eventual nominee, even if it ends up being Sanders, who presents the sharpest ideological contrast to the former New York mayor.

If he attempts to demolish Sanders on stage and spends money now to diminish the Vermont senator in a TV ad blitz heading into Super Tuesday, he could be playing into Trump’s hand in the general election by highlighting his weaknesses.