The Trump campaign is reportedly setting their sights on three Democrats they consider significant challengers to the President’s 2020 re-election bid.
Politico reports that advisers to the President have begun compiling opposition research on individuals they consider to be the “most viable” opponents at this stage of the game.
Some top names have yet to officially announce their candidacy as of yet, so the campaign has been left to focus on the lesser-qualified opponents until further notice.
So, who is the cream of the crop, so to speak, at this stage of the game? The names, compiled from interviews with over two-dozen Trump advisers, just might surprise you.
.@politicoalex talked with more than two dozen of Trump’s closest advisers about how they’re strategizing against the 2020 Democratic field and came back with tons of scoopy details. https://t.co/S8drjtioZN
— Carrie Budoff Brown (@cbudoffbrown) February 14, 2019
Elizabeth Warren
We’re not sure whether Elizabeth Warren is an actual concern of the Trump campaign or if they simply like compiling oppo research on her for future Pocahontas jokes.
Sure, CNN at one point had her as the top Democrat in the field, but they also identified her assets as being a woman, a liberal, and a “person of color.”
That was then and this is now. Warren will never escape the shadow of using fake Native-American heritage to further her career, especially since smoking gun evidence of her doing so has emerged.
This is from Elizabeth Warren’s registration for the Texas Bar, filled out in her own hand and calling herself “American Indian.” She has insisted she never used that identity to “get ahead.” You decide. pic.twitter.com/3ykomyAMKp
— Brit Hume (@brithume) February 6, 2019
In addition to that, her efforts at trying to connect with millennials have been a disaster. Anyone recall the super-awkward Instagram live chat session with supporters in which she tried her hardest to appear down to Earth with the common folk by cracking open a beer and hanging with her “sweetie”?
Because face-planting drunk into a van at 11:00 in the morning worked so well for the last Democrat presidential candidate… pic.twitter.com/yGc8rOg0go
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) January 3, 2019
Then there was this gem of a clip where Warren yanked a small stage prop child across stage to wave to the crowd.
Watch the way Elizabeth Warren yanks this kid ? pic.twitter.com/rJIZcj85M6
— ALX ?? (@alx) February 11, 2019
We’re sure there’s going to be plenty of material to choose from in her oppo file.
Cory Booker
File this one under ‘comic relief’ as well.
There is little concern that Cory Booker will pose a serious threat to the President in 2020.
The New Jersey senator made an embarrassing display of himself during the Justice Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings.
The ridiculous display will live in infamy, as Booker pretended to violate Senate Judiciary Committee rules by releasing confidential documents (even though they said he could), dared them to do something about his non-rule-breaking rule-breaking, and declared himself to be having a “Spartacus moment.”
The display was so juvenile and embarrassing, that even Justice Clarence Thomas made fun of Booker …
From last week, Justice Clarence Thomas: “Honorable – if we could use that word about more people who are in public life, people who actually ask the questions at confirmation hearings, instead of ‘Spartacus’…”
Watch full @FedSoc conversation – 7pm ET on C-SPAN2 #SCOTUS pic.twitter.com/PNgIofgvJC
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 12, 2018
Making the display even worse – Booker was grandstanding to fight for the right of a woman to be heard after falsely accusing Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her. But he, by his own admission, groped a friend in his teenage years even “after having my hand pushed away.”
Booker’s main goal for the 2020 election appears to be running on a ‘vegan’ platform.
Kamala Harris
Politico reports that Trump’s advisers were “surprise(d) over [Kamala] Harris’ impressive launch.”
They specifically cite the thousands who attended her Oakland rally, with political rallies being a strong point for the President.
“I think of those who’ve announced, Harris is the most formidable,” said Rick Reed, a veteran Republican strategist behind Trump’s 2016 TV ads. “Smart, telegenic, tough.”
But Harris has plenty of material to analyze as well. And plenty of gaffes.
She recently came under fire for stating she smoked weed in high school, “inhaled,” and listened to music by Tupac and Snoop Dogg, both of whom hadn’t launched their careers at that point.
Then there was the photo she tweeted, smiling while an opioid addict lay passed out on a bench behind her.
More concerning is her record which includes taking joy in jailing parents of truant school kids, even if they were homeless and working two jobs.
Kamala Harris laughing about putting poor people of color in jail. pic.twitter.com/2p53B7K882
— Black Rose NYC (@BlackRose_NYC) January 29, 2019
Additionally, as California’s Attorney General, Harris ignored an accusation and lawsuit alleging sexual harassment by a top aide in her office.
That complaint involved “gender harassment” perpetrated against her aide’s former executive assistant, along with allegations that she was forced into “demeaning behavior.”
The case ultimately led to a $400,000 settlement and the resignation of that aide who had been described as one of Harris’s closest professional confidantes.
If collecting opposition research on these three is the goal of the Trump campaign at this point, his advisers will have plenty of job security. There’s a lot to sort through.
Do you think any one of these names will give Trump a run for his money in 2020?
