Democrats are giddy about their 2018 prospects. That’s no secret. As for 2020, well, Trump could still win re-election, according to Philippe Reines, who was a close adviser to Hillary Clinton. Reines spoke at The Washington Center yesterday, answering questions from college students about Donald Trump, the midterms, and the next presidential election. Reines is confident that no other Democrat could have beaten Trump, with the exception of Barack Obama. He thinks his party will do well this year, hopefully stop the Trump agenda, and could lead to impeaching him, as Democrats would control the various committees to conduct such investigations. The 2020 election is a different animal, one where he threw cold water on the hopes that a Democrat could easily boot the president from office. Reines thinks the 2020 primaries for his party are going to a “circus” (via Washington Times):
He [Reines] said Mr. Trump has broken so many rules of politics that dozens of potential candidates could take a look at the 2020 race, but it’s not clear that any of them will be able to effectively battle the president.
“I think it’s going to be a bit of a circus in the Democratic Party. I think we all could name 30 people who might run,” Mr. Reines said at a forum with college students sponsored by the Washington Center.
He said winning control of the House this year could give Democrats the chance to derail Mr. Trump’s agenda and to pursue investigations against the administration, potentially ending with impeachment or his ouster.
Mr. Reines cheered those pushing for impeachment or using the 25th Amendment to oust him as incapacitated.
[…]
“I don’t think any Democrat would’ve beaten Donald Trump, aside from President Obama,” Mr. Reines said.
He said polls show that “1 out of 5 voters” who voted for Mr.
Trump also voted for Mr. Obama and continued to approve of the job Mr. Obama was doing in office at the time.
Mr. Reines said even Vice President Joseph R. Biden would have been plagued by the same issues as Mrs. Clinton.
The top Democratic aide is supporting the removal of Mr. Trump while party leaders try to figure out a strategy.
“I think there’s no more important thing to do right now than get Donald Trump out of office as fast as possible,” said Mr. Reines.
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Now, that impeachment strategy is also fraught with danger, as the Left has for much of 2017 overreached over a slate of instances with this White House. Yet, Reines also cast doubt on how Millennials will vote, admitting that he doesn’t know how they think or what drives them to the polls. His answer came after a graduate student asked what the Democratic Party could do to boost turnout among younger voters.
Reines said younger voters could start by recognizing what’s happening is not normal, and to not stop voicing their opposition to what they think isn’t right. Yet, he also warned that a lull could occur regarding the activism within this demographic, especially if they see their taxes go down, which he admits could alter their voting behavior. That would be quite the coup if a cornerstone of the Obama coalition become split on which party to vote for once the benefits of the tax bill become clearer.
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