In case anyone wonders who Trump fears the most, we already know.

[DanTex]

We don't have to speculate, because he's on tape in a private conversation talking about how he was most worried about Bernie as choice for VP in 2016.

In public, he says all kinds of lies and crazy things -- like calling Bernie a "communist". I've seen people claim that Trump is trying to "pump Bernie up" which absurdly assumes that Trump actually thinks that the Democratic electorate is going to listen to whatever he has to say.

Nothing Trump says publicly can be trusted at all, he's proved that over and over. But we know what he's said in private when he thought nobody was listening, and it's not that he fears centrists.

Added link on edit.
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-said-it-wouldve-been-tougher-win-2016-if-clinton-had-picked-bernie-sanders-vp-1484074

[genxlib]

1. I think this is a mis-reading of the fear

If I was in his position, I would fear Clinton keeping Bernie's voters.

In hindsight, we know they were actively trying to drive a wedge between Clinton supporters and Bernie supporters. Ultimately it worked enough to get him elected.

It is not a huge leap to assume that a combined ticket would have mitigated their efforts. Alas, their shit stirring was effective enough that a combined ticket was never going to happen.

[Thekaspervote]

2. Yes if sanders had agreed to be VP but I don't think he would ever have done that

[genxlib]

7. I agree it was never going to happen

But it would have been something that DJT feared.

[DanTex]

5. Possible, although he specifically mentioned Bernie's trade policy as a reason.

And I'm not saying Trump's actually right about anything, I'm just saying that the only actual time we've heard Trumps private thoughts about who he fears, it's been Bernie. What Trump says in public is bloviation.

[genxlib]

10. There could have been other factors

Since Trump angled for populist, there could be some of that as well.

[highplainsdem]

41. Nailed it. Trump feared an intraparty unity ticket in 2016. He and the GOP and the Russians did

everything possible to discourage Sanders supporters from supporting Clinton.

[SidDithers]

3. So he fears Bernie as Hillary's VP?...

Sid

[calguy]

4. The fact that they are in full Biden attack mode contradicts your opinion

I haven't seen any republican attack Bernie because in my opinion they want to run against Bernie more than any other candidate.
I respect your opinion, mine is different than yours. In a month or so we'll have a much better idea of how this whole thing is hashing out.

[DanTex]

9. Well, they, like most people, have assumed Biden is going to be nominee.

I mean, they're not going around digging dirt on Amy Klobuchar, either. I don't think it's that they want to run against Bernie, I think they want Bernie's primary supporters to not vote for Biden.

But you are right, we'll have a much better idea in a month or two.

[calguy]

25. Friends can have different opinions and still be friends.

[DanTex]

26. Even on the internet? Aren't you afraid we might break it??

[calguy]

43. WoW...I never considered that point

We'll have to be very careful.

[George II]

6. Is that tape of the private conversation available?

[DanTex]

12. Yes.

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-said-it-wouldve-been-tougher-win-2016-if-clinton-had-picked-bernie-sanders-vp-1484074

[Squinch]

14. This has nothing to do with "who trump fears most" of the current field. I really hate the way the

trump cultists always twist the truth and think the rest of us are dumb enough to buy it, don't you?

[DanTex]

15. Of course it does. You think he only fears Bernie specifically as a VP?

Or that he's changed his mind since the tape? That's illogical. He fears Bernie, he even said why: because of Bernie's trade views.

[Squinch]

16. Those trumpists! They conflate ridiculous things to the point of absolute dishonesty. And they

know they're doing it. It's disgusting to watch.

[DanTex]

17. I agree, it is disgusting. That's why we need to win in November.

[OilemFirchen]

48. What is it all the kids are saying these days?

BAZINGA!

[brush]

42. And that's why he wanted Biden publicly investigated? It's very obvious he fears Biden.

The repugs are salivating to run against Sanders so they can cue-up all their socialist oppo—there are so many free videos on youtube of Sanders himself saying, "I am a socialist."

[redstateblues]

8. Can you provide us with a link to the recording?

Trump would be spending a lot more time on Bernie than he spends on Joe and he just doesn't. Bernie is such a target rich environment that Trump would be having a field day with all of Bernie's baggage. Bernie's self avowed Socialist moniker is a millstone around his neck.

[DanTex]

13. Edited the OP with a link.

[Mike 03]

11. He fears Biden at the polls, but he has nightmares about Bloomberg's ancillary attacks.

[PatSeg]

18. By the time November comes,

Trump will be fearing everyone. He's like a corner rat and he's becoming more unhinged everyday. Right now, however, Biden is his biggest fear, which is why he tried to bribe Ukraine to announce investigations into the Bidens.

[SMC22307]

19. God, if only Hillary had chosen Bernie as her running mate.

Trump would be a distant fucking memory.

[squirecam]

32. No

She would have picked Sherrod Brown. He was the other finalist.

[ehrnst]

55. You really think that Bernie would have accepted?

He has much more power in the Senate.

I believe that he would like to have been asked, so he could refuse.

[treestar]

20. Then why does he abuse his powers

To get dirt in Biden?

[DanTex]

22. Because he, like everyone else, is assuming Biden will be the nominee.

[NurseJackie]

21. Pftftftft!

[Meeker]

23. At this point I don't think it's possible to know one way or the other. n/t

[BlueTsunami2018]

24. When he commits impeachable offenses to try and stop Bernie I'll believe he's afraid.

The Тяцмр team is licking their chops to go after Bernie. The public stuff alone will destroy him.

[stonecutter357]

27. lol !

[TwilightZone]

28. Yeah, we do already know. It got him impeached.

It couldn't be clearer that he considers Biden the #1 threat, by far.

The assertion that it's Sanders is ludicrous.

[evertonfc]

29. The Trump campaign

has been trying to wound Biden for 2 years. Why? Internal polling. Campaigns do it years early and game plan.

[DanTex]

30. Because he, along with everyone, has been assuming Biden will be the nominee.

Like, he's not building an oppo book on Marianne Williamson.

[StrictlyRockers]

31. Cup of no

"Why why why why why -- now listen here, mack! I will -- I will -- now, the thing is, and let me be clear! Her hair smelled good, and back when we didn't have cable TV, it was a little easier to go get a job."

[ehrnst]

33. Yes, that's why he's trying to tank Biden, and the GOP is supporting Sanders...

President Trump’s advisers see Senator Bernie Sanders as their ideal Democratic opponent in November and have been doing what they can to elevate his profile and bolster his chances of winning the Iowa caucuses, according to Republicans familiar with the plans.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/14/us/politics/trump-sanders-bloomberg-2020.html

[DanTex]

34. There's what people tell reporters, and then there's what they say in private conversations

they don't think are being recorded.

[ehrnst]

35. That's totally why dark money GOP superpacs buy ad to support them as the nominee...

Makes total sense that they'd do that for someone they thought was a threat.



https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/07/bernie-sanders-republican-senate-1307296

https://qz.com/600504/the-gop-establishment-is-really-feeling-the-bern/

All evidence points to the GOP wanting Sanders as the nominee. Why else would Russia have ever been pushing for him, as per the Mueller report?

[DanTex]

37. Another link to Republicans making statements to the press?

Like I said, we already know what Trump says behind closed doors when he thinks nobody is listening. You don't seriously believe Republicans tell the truth in public, do you?

[ehrnst]

39. But...you just said that you "don't care what Trump thinks."

Which is it? And you think that Trump is suddenly sane and consistent when behind closed doors?

And those links are talking about what the GOP spent their money on...

Who do you think leaked that audio to the press? A Democrat?



To a man with a hammer....

But seriously, why do you think that Russia was backing Bernie? That's what the Mueller report found. That wasn't something that they made public.

[DanTex]

40. Correct. But if anyone does, we now know what he thinks, which is he fears Bernie.

[ehrnst]

56. He said on the audio that he feared a Clinton/Sanders ticket...back in 2016

The GOP and Russia would not have been able to foment the division and misinformation that we clearly saw during the GE on Sanders FB pages, and shared by disgruntled Sanders supporters that were the target of division.

Besides, who knows what Trump actually thought at the time? Anyone with any powers of observation knows that he's not stable.

Because of that, those around him record him in case he goes off his nut and tries to throw them under the bus.

A GOP operative recorded and released that audio... so consider the source, and what the GOP may want the public to think.

[DanTex]

57. Yup, he wants nothing to do with Bernie.

[ehrnst]

58. But the GOP, and those running his campaign are chomping at the bit for a

Sanders nomination.

They are supporting him now ahead of the Iowa Caucuses.

This isn't the first time, either..

The Mueller report indicated that Russia was supporting Sanders, and pushing his popularity in divisive misinformation in 2016.

Why do you think they did that, and that it appears they are doing it again this time, if the GOP wants nothing to do with Bernie?

The rising popularity of the tactic among Sanders supporters may help explain the scores of images bashing Sanders’s opponents that have appeared in nearly simultaneous bursts in recent weeks, pushed out by highly networked clusters of Facebook users, according to Davis’s analysis. He did not find evidence that the campaign itself was involved in this activity, focusing instead on the informal Facebook activity by supporters.

............................

The hectic pace of memes spreading among Sanders supporters made some researchers suspect widespread use of automation tools and, possibly, a foreign-influence operation. Conspiratorial themes pushed in 2016 by Russian operatives, including claims about corruption in the Democratic Party, have reemerged with a fury.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/01/24/facebook-is-inflaming-divides-tearing-democratic-party/

All of the "lalalal-i-can't-hear-you" evasions won't make the very uncomfortable revelations go away.

Most other people are listening, reading and assessing...

[booley]

36. Trump also said who was hoping to run against

I have yet to see anyone explain why Trump wouldn't use the same attacks against Biden that he did against Clinton?

Its harder for Trump to go after Sander's policies because often those were the same promises Trump made. A real populist always has an advantage against a fake one.

[ehrnst]

38. You mean like trying to get another country to smear his opponent?

Like that attack?

[Demsrule86]

50. Define the term 'Socialist' in GOP speak...How are we going to win without

Virginia and Delaware...yes Sanders is not beating Trump in those states. Clinton and Biden are two different candidates and it is 2020

[UniteFightBack]

44. Oh dump is using reverse psycology on us! He's been impeached over getting dirt on Biden

but it's really Bernie the 'Democratic' SOCIALIST that he's afraid of. I mean LOL.

[Vivienne235729]

45. I think it is Bloomberg. I think he is terrified of him bc of their hx.

Bloomberg has always been a big part of the NYC elitist crowd that never accepted Trump for his crassness.

[scheming daemons]

46. He literally broke the law and committed impeachable acts to stop Biden

This OP is false.

[myohmy2]

47. interesting...

" "Had she [Clinton] picked Bernie Sanders it would've been tougher. He's the only one I didn't want her to pick," Trump can be heard saying in the recording. "

...I wonder why

...

[ehrnst]

54. ...interesting that the GOP and Russia were supporting a Sanders nomination...

...as per the Mueller report..

...I wonder why....

President Trump’s advisers see Senator Bernie Sanders as their ideal Democratic opponent in November and have been doing what they can to elevate his profile and bolster his chances of winning the Iowa caucuses, according to Republicans familiar with the plans.
.................................................

Most of Mr. Trump’s advisers see his biggest looming threat as Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who has maintained a steady level of support despite an onslaught of attacks from the president and his team. But there is often a divide between how Mr. Trump and his aides view opponents.

...but I guess one thinks that Trump has a stranglehold on reality and is crafty and stable in his thoughts, one might not be very informed on Trump...

Despite Mr. Trump’s own history of upending expectations of which candidates succeed, his aides insist they do not view Mr. Bloomberg as a serious contender for his party’s nomination, and they believe that the power of his money is limited, noting that Mr. Bloomberg’s aides would be legally prohibited from direct coordination with the Democratic nominee’s campaign, unlike the national party committees.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/14/us/politics/trump-sanders-bloomberg-2020.html


...

[myohmy2]

59. thanks ehrnst...

...unfortunately, I'm still wondering...

...

[Demsrule86]

49. Dan...it is 2020.

And Trump lies like a rug.

[Sucha NastyWoman]

51. No

He would love for Bernie to be our nominee.

[emmaverybo]

52. In 2016 he feared a Clinton Sanders team. And yeah, he's been hands off on Bernie while Bernie

saves his wrath for Dems.

[LanternWaste]

53. It does not follow. Inferences are not absolutes.

But I get it... you have a narrative to propel, accuracy be damned.