My Thanksgiving column in the Las Vegas Review-Journal listed quite a few reasons to be thankful for President Donald J. Trump. But it’s still technically Thanksgiving weekend, and the Democratic Party’s presidential candidates deserve credit, too.
I’m thankful the Democratic candidates are so awful. Even former President Barack Obama is disgusted. Have you seen Obama’s comments? He believes they’re too radical and extreme to win. Might be the first time I’ve ever agreed with my old Columbia College classmate.
Obama also reportedly told a Democratic candidate that former Vice President Joe Biden doesn’t have what it takes to win the White House. By the way, Biden is in fourth place in a new poll in New Hampshire. Sen. Bernie Sanders now leads the field.
But Obama is no fan of Sanders either. Politico Magazine reports that Obama warned he will step in to try to prevent Sanders from winning the Democratic presidential nomination.
Then there’s Sen. Elizabeth Warren. She was the new leader for about a month. The latest national Quinnipiac University poll shows Warren plunging by half. She was at 28% last month. Now she has free-fallen to 14% and third place.
Why is this happening? Because the Democrats have no candidate who can beat Trump. That’s why Democrats cling to a new flavor of the month. It’s all about hope and desperation.
The latest flavor of the month is Pete Buttigieg. I’m sure my liberal critics will be shocked to hear I couldn’t care less that he’s gay. I’m a libertarian when it comes to bedroom issues. Mayor Pete’s big problem: He’s a small-town mayor with zero accomplishments.
His town (South Bend, Indiana) is falling apart. Crime is through the roof. Violent crime is dramatically higher than that in many neighboring towns. His own police department hates him. He should be home dealing with that mess. But nope. He thinks he deserves to be president of the United States. My educated guess is he couldn’t win reelection as South Bend mayor.
Then there’s ex-New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. He’s got three big problems. First, he’s a billionaire in a party that despises wealth and success. Second, he’s a straight old white guy in a party that despises straight old white guys. And third, he’s the most boring speaker in world history.
These Democrats learned all the wrong lessons from Trump’s election. They think Trump won because he’s a billionaire. Not true. Trump won because he’s got charisma, celebrity, an out-of-the-box personality, tremendous world-class energy and the perfect message.
That’s precisely why Tom Steyer, the first billionaire to jump in the Democratic presidential race, has spent tens of millions. In the latest Quinnipiac poll, he’s at zero percent. Even Rep. Tulsi Gabbard beats Steyer.
Being a billionaire isn’t a positive in the Democratic Party. But in the end, Steyer has the same problems as Bloomberg: He’s a stiff. He’s boring and thoroughly unlikable on television. All the money in the world can’t change that.
Then we come to the message. Bloomberg just said the United States needs “an awful lot more immigrants, rather than less.” That may play in New York City, where English is no longer the main language. But in the rest of America, Bloomberg just committed political suicide.
Meanwhile, President Trump just announced in an interview with Bill O’Reilly that he’s designating Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations. Bravo. Now that’s what real Americans want to hear.
This Thanksgiving weekend, I am thankful Democrats have no candidate to compete with Trump. I’m thankful Democrats still don’t speak the language of middle-class Americans. And I’m thankful that President Trump does.
