President Trump revealed that Joe Biden would be his dream opponent in the 2020 presidential election, citing his track record of losing and claiming Barack Obama rescued his career “out of the garbage heap” in 2008.
“Well, I dream, I dream about Biden. That’s a dream,” Trump said in a CBS News interview with anchor Jeff Glor. “Look, Joe Biden ran three times. He never got more than one percent and President Obama took him out of the garbage heap, and everybody was shocked that he did. I’d love to have it be Biden.”
Trump later clarified that he couldn’t quite remember how many times Biden had run, saying it may have been “two or three times.”
Biden was considered a strong candidate in 1988 when he first announced a run for the White House but was derailed by accusations of plagiarism. He ran again in 2008 but struggled to raise money and support after calling Obama the “first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.”
He never rose above single digits in the national polls that year.
“Biden never … by himself could never do anything,” Trump continued. “President Obama took him, made him vice president and he was fine.”
President Trump tells @CBSEveningNews‘ @jeffglor that Joe Biden would be a “dream” opponent in the 2020 presidential election: “Joe Biden ran three times. He never got more than 1 percent and President Obama took him out of the garbage heap.” https://t.co/PUwKfDZtES pic.twitter.com/MmvyiLUWGT
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 19, 2018
There’s some evidence to suggest Trump’s right to hope for a Biden contest, as well as some evidence that he may want to be careful what he’s wishing for.
A new poll indicates Democrats wouldn’t want to see Biden back in the fold. He’d be 78 and hardly a fresh face, but that’s exactly what 73 percent of Democrat voters want to see in a nominee for 2020.
He also has a very rich history of gaffes that land him in hot water. The aforementioned ‘articulate African-American’ one comes to mind.
In 2006, Biden was caught on video saying, “You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking.”
When he’s not making racist comments, he’s actually playing the race card.
Earlier this year he claimed the GOP “don’t want black folks voting,” a comment incredibly reminiscent of his 2012 pronouncement that Republicans and Mitt Romney “wanted to put them all back in chains.”
Then, of course, there was that time he told a wheelchair-bound man to “Stand up, Chuck, let ’em see ya.”
There’s plenty of material for Trump’s campaign to pore through, that is for certain.
At the same time, the same Rasmussen report touted Biden as a serious contender, one of three along with Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, more not-so-fresh faces.
The former vice president was picked by 41% of likely Democratic voters in November as the best candidate against President Trump if he runs for reelection in 2020.
.@ChrisStirewalt: “In Biden’s mind, he believes that if he was able to have run in 2016 and that he could’ve beaten @HillaryClinton, that he would’ve triumphed over Trump. There’s some evidence to support that.” pic.twitter.com/8uSeIrdTpV
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 19, 2018
CNN is currently ranking Biden as the top prospect in their “definitive ranking of 2020 Democrats.”
“Biden has something that no other candidate in the field has,” they report. “First, he’s on top of early polls gauging the 2020 field. He’s leading in national polls, early primary state polls and in a matchup against Trump.”
Regardless of those prospects, should Trump’s dream come true, it’d be best if he avoids sitting too close to Uncle Joe during the debates. (RELATED: Gropin’ Joe Biden Leads Field of Democrat Challengers For 2020). You don’t know what this man is capable of.
Then again, he should be able to hold his own.
Earlier this year, Biden puffed up his feathers and lashed out at Trump for his supposedly terrible treatment of women, angrily challenging him to a duel.
Well, not quite. But he did say, “If we were in high school, I’d take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him.”
The President responded by slapping Biden as “weak, both mentally and physically.” (RELATED: Trump Responds to Joe Biden’s Threat With His Own Macho Tweet).
Crazy Joe Biden is trying to act like a tough guy. Actually, he is weak, both mentally and physically, and yet he threatens me, for the second time, with physical assault. He doesn’t know me, but he would go down fast and hard, crying all the way. Don’t threaten people Joe!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2018
Obama’s former right-hand man backed down almost immediately.
“I shouldn’t have said what I said,” Biden admitted. “I don’t want to get down in the mosh pit with this guy.”
You might not want to, but Mr. Trump obviously considers it a “dream.”
