The Independent - 05.03.2020

(Wang) #1

He crushed Mr Sanders first in South Carolina, site of a Friday night “Keep America Great” rally, then on
Tuesday in North Carolina, which hosted a Monday night rally.


But, as always, those results did not cause the president to change tactics. He took to Twitter yesterday
morning to paint Mr Sanders as the victim


“Wow! If Elizabeth Warren wasn’t in the race, Bernie Sanders would have EASILY won Massachusetts,
Minnesota and Texas, not to mention various other states,” Mr Trump tweeted. “Our modern day
Pocahontas won’t go down in history as a winner, but she may very well go down as the all time great
SPOILER!”


Head-to-head


Although the president’s words suggest he would prefer to run against Mr Sanders, polls suggest his odds of
winning another term are about the same against each leading Democrat.


Recent national polls conducted by Fox News and Yahoo give the Vermont senator a seven-point and six-
point lead, respectively, over the president. The same polls give Mr Biden an eight-point and nine-point
advantage nationally over Mr Trump in a head-to-head race.


In key swing states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Mr Sanders leads the president by a few percentage
points – but within the margins of error. The same polls in the same states show the former VP tied with the
45th chief executive.


One Democratic strategist, however, said Mr Biden is attracting a mix of voters that would probably give
him a better chance in the general election. “This is the winning coalition from 2018 and Obama years:
African-American and suburban voters,” the strategist said.


Mr Trump is watching those polls carefully, and he’s mindful that he has to put his 2016 Electoral College
map back together again – a needle he must again thread. That includes Pennsylvania.


The president returns to the Keystone State tonight night for a town hall event hosted by Fox News, his
preferred cable network and one that gets massive ratings among conservatives as he looks to drive up
turnout among that bloc to offset Democratic turnout in urban areas.


Impeachment on a loop


After Senate Republicans acquitted Mr Trump on two House-passed impeachment articles, the president’s
approval rating rose to record highs.


Although it has fallen over his uneven handling and downplaying of the coronavirus threat, should Mr
Biden become the nominee, expect the president to use the Ukraine matter as a bludgeon against him.


In fact, as he tries to soften up Mr Biden in hopes of running against the “socialist”, Mr Trump is likely to
start talking about his impeachment and Ukraine a lot more as the two Democrats battle it out.


But some Democratic strategists are suggesting the issue is a loser for the president.


“Definition of a bad day at the WH: You buy a freakin’ impeachment to try and stop @JoeBiden and now
he’s resurgent!”, David Axelrod, a former adviser to Barack Obama, tweeted yesterday.

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