OPINION: DONALD TRUMP IS TERRIFIED OF BOTH HILLARY CLINTON AND JOE BIDEN FOR 2020

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     Donald Trump is scared to death of Hillary Clinton. Although I have no formal psychiatric or psychological training, it is merely a logical conclusion that Trump has berated, belittled and bashed Mrs. Clinton...throughout two years passed the 2016 election...so that his base - and perhaps as many Independents as he can convince - will forever be soured by even the sound of the name Hillary Clinton and, therefore, along with her...all Democrats...and that means Joe Biden too.  And while Trump is as jittery as a June bug in a hen house, the former secretary of state and the former vice president are - I believe - laughing up a storm, as both are confident that either one could beat Trump in 2020. 

     Let's begin, though, with Secretary Clinton.  Trump - along with Republicans nationwide - are politically afraid of the 2016 Democratic nominee. That's why Trump hasn't stopped his attacks on Mrs. Clinton.  No American president in history has ever spent his term verbally thrashing his election opponent out of revenge because of past campaign rhetoric.  I believe Trump is as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs that Mrs. Clinton might surprise us and announce her 2020 candidacy for president.  Oh I know that Secretary Clinton has stated over and over that she's done...that she will never run for president again...but I don't buy it.  It's obviously possible that the former First Lady will not toss her hat in to the ring, but let's remember that when Mrs. Clinton lost the Democratic nomination to then-Senator Barack Obama in 2008, she insisted that she would not be a candidate in 2016. Anyone who knows anything about politics is certain that you never say never. 

     For the record, despite my 2008 support for Hillary Clinton, I'm a Democrat - a self-proclaimed ultra-liberal progressive one - who believes in the Democratic Party and that it's the Democratic Party which is best for the United States of America. Unlike many Bernie Sanders supporters who wrongly decided to stay home and not vote for Secretary Clinton in 2016 - especially residents of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - which cost Mrs. Clinton the presidency...my Democratic allegiance in 2008 shifted full-speed ahead to Mr. Obama when he won the nomination over then-Senator Clinton.  I soon became a huge fan of the Illinois senator.  And in 2012, I was 100 percent gung-ho in doing what I could...to help re-elect President Obama for a second term.  As I felt in 2000 with President Bill Clinton...after President Obama's eight years in The White House, I had wished there were no term limits as I would have voted for him again.

     All of the above being said about Mr. Obama, I was and will always be a staunch supporter of the Clintons.  I happily voted twice for Bill Clinton and vigorously campaigned for Hillary Clinton in 2008 and 2016.  I truly hope that Secretary Clinton will run for president in 2020...and I think if she does...she would wipe the floor with Donald Trump's hair. But does Mrs. Clinton feel - as I do - that she can defeat Trump in a second head-to-head match?  Does she have the energy - or even the desire - to seek the Democratic nomination, especially if Vice President Biden decides to run?  We will know the answer to all these questions within the next six months or so, as I expect official announcements - yay or nay - between now and May 2019.  If Hillary Clinton still wants to be the one to "shatter that highest and hardest glass ceiling"...with her as America's first female president...then nothing will stop her from running...and I don't think anybody - at this point - could beat her.  However, if Secretary Clinton has had enough...and that putting her name on a ballot is a thing of the past and not in any way will it be a thing of the future...then Vice President Biden is Democrats' best choice to send the 2020 Republican nominee - whomever that may be - back to their hometown.  

     If Donald Trump's presidency survives Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation...if Trump himself is able to physically and mentally cope with...and then successfully make it through a possible impeachment by the U.S. House of Representatives and a possible conviction by the U.S. Senate - should Congress proceed down that pathway come next year - and then, if Trump does, in fact, seek the Republican nomination again in 2020...(he could change his mind)...I think he will fear both Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden if either is nominated to be the GOP's Democratic challenger.  

     It was reported by Axios on July 25th, 2018 that Trump advisers assert that Mr. Biden is who Trump worries about most for 2020, even though he told CBS Evening News anchor Jeff Glor on July 19th..."I dream about Biden.  That's a dream.  I'd love to have it be Biden."  Yeah sure, Donald.  Sure.

     Once the calendar crosses the border in to 2019...and Trump realizes we are getting closer to Secretary Clinton and/or Vice President Biden announcing that one or both might be candidates for president in 2020...Trump will hit the road and his Twitter feed...and the words "Crooked Hillary" - along with an equally offensive nickname for Joe Biden - will be spoken and written by Trump.

     But I don't think the people of the United States - as a whole - are going to accept Trump's trash-talk through another campaign.  It didn't help him keep the House of Representatives Republican "red" after the 2018 midterms.  It was a "blue" wave that won control for the Democrats.  But Donald Trump isn't going to change. And for Democrats and left-leaning Independents - plus anyone else who is anti-Trump - that's probably good news for us...and for our country.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.

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Photo credits: Associated Press/Evan Vucci (former Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton), Getty Images (Donald Trump), Associated Press/Steve Helber (former President Barack Obama), Reuters (former President Bill Clinton) and Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/The Slate Group (Special Counsel Robert Mueller)

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