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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Democrat Trumpworld fears most
In recent weeks, the president has been handicapping the prospective 2020 field and finding potential challengers wanting.
By ANNIE KARNI 01/15/2018 06:43 PM EST
In early December, as President Donald Trumps approval rating reached a new low of 32 percent, the commander-in-chief was rating the 2020 Democratic field from behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders who had recently bested Trump in a poll that tested the two septuagenarians in a head-to-head match-up wasnt a serious threat and would be easy to beat, Trump told a Republican with close ties to the White House who was in the room. It wasnt the lefty politics of the self-described socialist that Trump thought were a losing proposition. Instead, according to the person in the room, Trump was hung up on Sanders age, arguing that Sanders, now 76, wouldnt have the energy to run another national campaign.
Sanders wasnt the only potential presidential candidate that Trump, 71, brushed off as a non-threat. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the woman he has nicknamed Pocahontas, would be easy to beat, he said. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker probably wouldnt end up running, Trump mused. When someone in the room brought up California Sen. Kamala Harris, the president seemed not to have her on his radar yet.
-snip-
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who has feuded with Trump on Twitter after calling for his resignation because of sexual harassment and assault allegations, doesnt make these people nervous. Former Vice President Joe Biden, however, is seen as someone who could cut into Trump's base.
One former White House official outlined a theory of the case that has gained some traction: Trumps policies will continue to be popular all the way through his reelection campaign, but his approval rating will never crack 45 percent creating an opening for Biden, or someone like him, to recapture the loyalty of white Rust Belt Democrats who helped elect Trump in 2016.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/15/trump-democrats-2020-election-340623
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)I thought Trump's base was the KKK.
IluvPitties
(3,181 posts)Maybe down the road, but not in '20.
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)I think she or mostly anyone could win. I never saw Biden as an attractive candidate but he has name rec this time around.
IluvPitties
(3,181 posts)I like Harris very much and would be fine president, but I would like her to run in a country that has healed a bit from what Trump has done.
JNelson6563
(28,151 posts)Sadly Joe's window has closed I think. I'm on board with moving on beyond boomers.
samnsara
(17,622 posts)delisen
(6,044 posts)bronxiteforever
(9,287 posts)To bite him in his copious gluteus maximus. Planning what will happen over 2 years from now in politics is a fools errand. But he cant keep his eyes off the ratings!
PoorMonger
(844 posts)This is still I think falling for a premise that its all about those working class white dudes and flipping them back. Aside from the difficulty in having those people admit a mistake, it seems to me that we are better off making the case to all the people who didnt vote out of apathy or all the people who couldnt vote because they werent old enough.
I think that Trump is so awful it will inspire a lot of new people to join the voting process. We need to make the case clear to them.
IluvPitties
(3,181 posts)Too bad some members of our own party helped bring him down.