Who would have guessed that a former Clinton adviser would make this claim? Longtime adviser and press secretary to Hillary told an audience at a Washington Center event that no one except Barack Obama could have beaten Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. During a question-and-answer session, a Harvard University extension student asked Philippe Reines which Democrats could have defeated Trump in 2016.
NO ONE EXCEPT OBAMA? YOU MUST BE JOKING!
“Strategically, I don’t know. In hindsight, there were some very big problems that would have affected any Democrat,” Reines said. “I don’t think any Democrat would have beaten Donald Trump aside from President Obama.”
“I think one out of every five voters came out and said they voted for Donald Trump, they had voted for Barack Obama in 2012, and they continued to approve of the job Barack Obama was doing last year,” Reines added.
JOE BIDEN 2020?
It’s interesting that Reines doesn’t see Biden as a winner..too much Obama baggage:
Reines went on to say that if Clinton had been replaced by Joe Biden in 2016 as the Democratic presidential nominee, he believes that Biden would have been “bogged down” by Obamacare, trade, and being a Washington insider.
He also said that he does not think Biden would have gotten the same support as Clinton among certain demographic groups.
“Other people would not have gotten what she got, either with specific demographics or subgroups, so the strategic question I think is pretty hard to answer,” Reines said.
“GROPIN’ JOE BIDEN”
Reines said that he wishes Biden the best of luck in “knocking Donald Trump out” in a metaphorical manner if he decides to run for president in 2020.
Read more: WFB
