President Donald Trump predicted that he would likely be running against Sen. Bernie Sanders or former Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 election, but he left open the possibility that he could face Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
“It may be Bernie has the most spirit over there right now,” Trump said. “Could be the mayor from Indiana. I think I’d like running against him, too. But it’ll be interesting to see it unfold. There’ll be very interested — a lot of times you can’t tell.”
Trump commented on the 2020 Democratic primary in an interview with Sirius/XM host David Webb on Wednesday.
Buttigieg’s support has jumped in the early primary polls thanks to several successful interviews in the national media.
Trump said that Biden was “sleepy” and suggested that he would have a hard time staying in the race.
“I think Sleepy Joe’s going to have a hard time. He’s, you know, one percent Joe,” he said. “I don’t think he’s going to make it.”
Trump warned against Americans choosing a socialist for president, noting that the current economic boom was fragile.
“Our country is doing so well and if we ever went socialistic, if we have become a socialist country, you could write off this country. This country would go down so fast,” he said.
But Trump said he also relished a debate with Sanders.
“I hear what Bernie says, and I hope I get an opportunity to run against him because it’ll be so easy to show, whether it’s his healthcare — that’s a disaster, it’s a disaster,” he said.