President Trump on Monday told reporters he thought Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) may offer the toughest challenge to his incumbency in the 2020 general election.
“I actually think he would be tougher than most of the other candidates because he is like me,” Trump said while en route to the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. The president added, “I have a much bigger base” than Sanders.
Trump again asserted that the Democratic Party would do all it could to prevent Sanders from becoming the nominee, and predicted the Democratic primaries would end in a brokered convention.
“It could go to the convention. It really could,” Trump said. “They are going to take it away from Crazy Bernie. They are not going to let him win.”
Sanders handily won the Nevada Caucuses, as of Monday carrying about 47 percent of the vote with 96 percent of precincts reporting. As networks began calling the vote for Sanders on Saturday, Trump stepped into the fray to comment.
“Looks like Crazy Bernie is doing well in the Great State of Nevada,” the president wrote on Twitter. “Biden & the rest look weak, & no way Mini Mike can restart his campaign after the worst debate performance in the history of Presidential Debates. Congratulations Bernie, & don’t let them take it away from you!”
Sanders heads into the Saturday South Carolina primary with a commanding win in Nevada, a win in New Hampshire and a close second-place finish in Iowa. On Monday, Politico reported that Representative James Clyburn (D., S.C.) was planning on endorsing former vice president Joe Biden, in what some Democrats see as a last-ditch effort to slow Sanders before the nomination.