If you thought that the 2020 Democratic field couldn’t get any more crowded or bizarre, guess again. Al Sharpton – the world’s most dislikable reverend – has recently made remarks that suggest he may be considering a run for President in 2020.
In an interview with Buzzfeed, Sharpton was asked about the possibility of him running for the Democratic nomination in 2020. In response, Sharpton replied, “I never rule anything out,”. Later, a Democratic insider who wished to remain anonymous told Liberty Nation that there is a real chance that Sharpton could run.
According to this Democratic aide, Al Sharpton “thinks some of the candidates are low-key racist, and he’s thinking about calling it out on the stage”. He went on to say, “He [Al Sharpton] told me they’ve got a white woman who pretended to be Indian, they got a white dude who changed his name to Beto to seem Hispanic, and some prosecutor who pretends to be black.”
Of course, playing the race card is Al Sharpton’s bread and butter. Identity politics is the go-to strategy of the entire Democratic party, but no one plays the game quite like the reverend. Anytime there is an instance of racial tension or divide, Al Sharpton is always quick to swoop in and make the situation far worse.
Now, he may be planning to take his race bating skills to the big stage and see if they can take him all the way to the White House.
If Sharpton is actually serious about throwing his hat into the ring, it wouldn’t be the first time that Sharpton has run for President. Sharpton also ran for the Democratic nomination in 2004, but only managed to win 26 delegates before dropping out of the race.
To make Sharpton’s failure in 2004 all the worse, he was later ordered to repay $100,000 to the federal government for exceeding federal limits on personal expenditures for his campaign. It seems that when Al Sharpton loses elections, he likes to use donors money illegally to lose them in style.
Should Al Sharpton decide to try again in 2020, he’ll be paving the way for yet another election loss. Sharpton’s chances of winning the Democratic nomination would have been slim to none even if he had entered the race months ago. Now that he’s already behind the curve, Sharpton’s has no shot whatsoever of winning the nomination.
Winning the nomination, though, may not be Sharpton’s overall goal. Sharpton has said before that winning isn’t always the reason he starts political campaigns, saying that changing the nature of the debate and raising important questions are reasons enough to count a campaign successful.
The jury is still out, however, on whether Sharpton joining the race would help or hurt 2020 Democrats such as Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren. On the one hand, Al Sharpton is a master at race-baiting, and Democratic candidates could certainly learn a thing or two from him if they still hope to beat Donald Trump just by calling him a racist.
On the other hand, it seems like Sharpton has some serious issues with several Democratic candidates, and broadcasting those issues appears to be his primary motivation for running. The last thing Biden or Warren need at this point in their campaigns is someone as masterful at race-baiting as Al Sharpton calling them a racist. It’s a possibility that has many Republicans chomping at the bit hoping that Sharpton is serious about running for President.
All things considered, it’s rather unlikely that Sharpton will actually toss his hat into the ring. While Sharpton didn’t rule out the possibility of running in his interview with Buzzfeed, politicians give ambiguous answers like this all the time when asked whether or not they will run for President.
Nevertheless, Al Sharpton is nothing if not unpredictable. If he really does have an ax to grind with the Democratic party, the Democratic Presidential debates would be the perfect stage. While there aren’t many conservative Al Sharpton fans, there’s no denying that seeing Sharpton skillfully accuse Democratic candidates of racism would make for excellent television.
It might even weaken several of Trump’s top challengers at a pivotal moment in the race. With all of those things considered, here’s to hoping that Rev. Sharpton really is planning to try his luck again in 2020.
