Trump Privately Tells Confidants That 'Socialism' Won't Be 'So Easy' to Beat in 2020

[Uncle Joe]

(snip)

This year, Trump has repeatedly told friends and donors that running against “socialism” in a general election may not be “so easy” because of its populist draw, according to four Republicans and sources close to Trump who’ve heard him say this over the past several months.

(snip)

That Trump has been conceding that socialism could be politically potent didn’t catch Sanders’ campaign by surprise.

“One of the reasons I feel so strongly about Bernie’s ability to beat Trump is because we know that the Democratic nominee will have to credibly explain that Trump betrayed the working class with false promises and that he does not put forward real solutions to help struggling people,” said Faiz Shakir, Sanders’ 2020 campaign manager. “Bernie can and will do that successfully. We’ll have a national debate about policies that help the one percent versus policies that lift the 99. I get the sense Trump knows the reckoning is coming and is worried about being exposed as a fraud. No Sharpie edits will save him.”

For Sanders to get to the point of having a national debate with Trump over the merits of socialism, he must first survive the Democratic primary. But even if he doesn’t make it through that gauntlet, the Senator will have managed to move the contours of the debate. Four years ago, Sanders and his team were warning liberals that they shouldn’t underestimate Trump’s appeal, precisely because it spoke to the desire for voters to have government side with them over the elites.

(snip)


https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-2020-president-privately-tells-confidants-that-socialism-wont-be-so-easy-to-beat

[C_U_L8R]

1. When your entire platform is based on bullshit...

it's bound to stink.

[Mr.Bill]

2. Of course socialism won't be easy to beat.

That's why the republicans are going to call it communism. In 2020, they won't even use the word socialism.

[Autumn]

5. Trump didn't use the word socialism but he still won on "socialism".

[Wellstone ruled]

12. Had the same thought as you.

Been watching test phrases coming from various Trump operatives. Rubio,Cruz and Graham have been trying out various synonyms for Communism.

Sure looking like 1951 and Tail Gunner Joe Language about to hit the stage big time. My guess is,Trump will test this message in the coming days at one of his Reelection Hate Rallies.

[Pacifist Patriot]

3. I'm not buying it.

I don't think Trump has the capacity to contribute to his campaign strategy in any way whatsoever. This grants him a level of understanding I don't think he possesses. I'm not sure he could sound out the word socialism let alone understand the framing of the concept in the context of a political campaign.

[WheelWalker]

16. I agree with you completely.

[Autumn]

4. We knew that when the orange ass won his election "talking" socialism.

[IronLionZion]

6. Trump is the one with protectionist tariffs and telling companies where to put their factories

and provides taxpayer funded bailouts to farmers while trying to prop up coal mines. Dude provided massive tax cuts during a strong economy with record low unemployment. Don't get me started on the emoluments at his hotels around the world.

But yeah sure, Dems are the socialists.

[NYMinute]

7. Says a fox it is terrified of a chicken

All the while salivating and singing "I feel like chicken tonight"

[Zambero]

8. The embrace of National "Socialism" aka White Nationalism

will be a much bigger problem for Republicans going forward.

[Newest Reality]

9. When

the commons are so neglected that you can hear the creaking and moaning of the supports and see bits of what's left scattered to and fro, you can bet that social democracy may become a force to reckon with.

In fact, it is vital. The foundation is cracked and crumbling, the basement is filling up with sewage and the body politic is going to be on life support soon, though the Refascist Party would vote to pull the plug on it if possible.

There is a point where all the glimmer of the television spectacle won't be able to gloss over the decrepitude. The parasite is killing the host, drop by drop.

[jmbar2]

10. Trump has no friends - only toadies

[Perseus]

11. I don't know of any Democratic candidate who is preaching "Socialism", it is a myth

And we should not support that kind of talk.

What Democrats are talking about is a "Democratic-Socialist" government, which uses all of the capitalist ideologies but with sound laws and regulations to assure there is no abuse, they are also discussing laws that support benefits which are supposed to be provided by government, such as Universal Healthcare, Free education, and a few others.

We have been fed the lie that the role of the government is to protect the nation, which is only one of the roles government must play, they have done that so that they can feed the military establishment more money than it is necessary and they have created a culture of waste by doing so. The role of the government is more than that, it is to provide its citizens with the basic needs such as those I listed in the previous paragraph.

What republicans do with the word "Socialism" is to try to convince people that their check is going to be divided so that those who do not work get their share, which is so far from the truth.

Democrats should not talk about "Socialism", it doesn't exist.

[BlueMississippi]

13. lol

One of David Sirota's buddies with a rich fantasy life.

[crazytown]

14. Not socialist, communist

For those who might remember, communist was shorthand for Soviet Dupe - A traitor - A little hard for Trump to push that case I would have thought

Love the comments about the wall. There's a great attack ad right there.

[ehrnst]

15. If there's anyone you can trust to be honest, it's Trump, his close associates and his donors.

Especially when it comes to what they "leak" to the press.

I think this is more evidence that Bernie is still the GOP's favored pick for the Democratic nominee.

[Lucid Dreamer]

17. Kaching!

We have a winner!