Hillary: 'As I say, never, never, never say never'

FPI / November 13, 2019

Will she take a third swing at the White House?

Twice failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says she is "under enormous pressure" to consider jumping into the 2020 presidential contest and her former top strategist says the former secretary of state is still thinking of taking that third swing.

Clinton might be thinking, “‘Wow the field’s weak, I could come in. I could get 165,000 donors, I’m tied with [Joe] Biden in some of these early states…’ There’s still a political logic there for her,” Mark Penn said on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures.

“As I say, never, never, never say never,” Clinton said in an interview with BBC Radio 5 when she was asked about a future presidential bid. “I will certainly tell you, I’m under enormous pressure from many, many, many people to think about it. But as of this moment, sitting here in this studio talking to you, that is absolutely not in my plans.”

Some polls have suggested Clinton would be considered a top-tier contender if she does decide to run. A poll conducted in New Hampshire between Oct. 29 and Oct. 31 had Clinton at 18 percent, trailing only Joe Biden, who polled at 19 percent.

Penn said that “Unless this field changed, Biden is a frontrunner, but a weak frontrunner and a lot of the other candidates are too far to the left.”

If Clinton is to jump into the 2020 race, she will have to do it soon.

Deadlines to file and make it onto the ballot are approaching in several states. New Hampshire and Arkansas have filing deadlines this week. The deadlines for Illinois, California, and Texas are a few weeks away, while Ohio and North Carolina deadlines are before Christmas.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg filed as a Democratic presidential candidate in Alabama on Friday, the last day to do so.

“There’s still a couple of days here,” Penn said. “I don’t know whether she’ll look at the Michael Bloomberg thing and say, ‘the field’s too crowded now. I missed my opportunity,’ or the opposite.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who has taken the lead in many polls over Joe Biden, is seen by many as too far left. Meanwhile, Biden seems to unleash a new gaffe every time he speaks in public. Sen. Bernie Sanders sunk lower in the polls after suffering a heart attack and no other candidate polls at more than single digits.

“I think Michael Bloomberg saw that opportunity and made a pretty intelligent decision,” Penn said. “For him, it’s now or never in terms of running for president, so why not get in and shake up the Democratic Party.”

President Donald Trump said Bloomberg is no threat.

“He’s not going to do well. But I think he’s going to hurt Biden actually, but he doesn’t have the magic to do well,” Trump told reporters on Friday. “Little Michael will fail. He’ll spend a lot of money. He’s got some really big issues. He’s got some personal problems and he’s got a lot of other problems.

“But I know Michael Bloomberg fairly well. He will not do very well, and if he did I’d be happy. There is nobody I’d rather run against than little Michael. That I can tell you.”

Free Press International