Longtime Trump campaign aide Corey Lewandowski says he knows where Joe Biden can find his best pick for running mate. And, Lewandowski believes, Biden’s going to need all the help he can get.
In an interview on WPHT radio in Philadelphia Wednesday, Lewandowski dismissed talk that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo would be a last-second player in the Democrats’ presidential nomination process.
“Joe Biden has about a 350 delegate lead over Bernie Sanders right now. That lead is all been insurmountable,” Lewandowski said, while noting that Cuomo’s name won’t appear on any ballots. “The Democratic Party is going to be stuck with him as their nominee, and I love that for us. All you have to do is watch Joe Biden from his basement right now to see what he would be like as a President of the United States,” referencing Biden’s less-than-impressive Facebook streaming efforts.
“He would be an unmitigated disaster.”
National polls consistently show Biden with a lead in head-to-head match-ups against President Trump, even as the president’s approval has risen in response to his handling of the coronavirus crisis. In the latest Harvard-Harris poll, Biden has a nine-point lead over the incumbent.
Why is Trump’s job rating up, but he’s still losing to Biden? “The best answer we can find in today’s data is that voters like Biden better personally,” says Ron Faucheux, Chief Analyst at Certus Insights. He notes that in overall approval, Biden’s at a +7 while Trump remains -10.
Lewandowski isn’t worried, arguing that Trump can outcampaign his low-energy likely opponent.
“Can you imagine if the president ‘We’re going to do Lincoln-Douglas style debates across the country? No teleprompter, me and you, onstage, no chairs to sit down on, Uncle Joe.'”
“And by the way, Trump would be doing six rallies before the debate, and two after the debate, while Joe was taking a nap.”
When asked who Biden should pick as his potential VP, Lewandowski offered a name not often heard in political conversation: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
“She’s a first-term governor of Michigan, she helped deliver the state of Michigan for Joe in the primary,” Lewandowski said. If Biden picks her, “it puts Michigan in play. I don’t think he will do that. I think he’s going to have to go with an Elizabeth Warren to bring back the Bernie Sanders wing of the party.”
Lewandowski considered a race of his own, against incumbent U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), before deciding to focus instead on Trump’s re-election campaign. His appearance on a Philadelphia talk station isn’t a surprise given how vital the Keystone State is to Trump’s political success.
Biden, who was born in Scranton, PA, has his national campaign headquarters in Philadelphia.
“This president is best when he’s in front of the cameras, in front of the American people. Joe is just praying that he doesn’t have to come out and actually make any public statements because every time he does, he makes another crucial mistake,” Lewandowski said.
