President Donald Trump is taking on a new role no one ever thought he’d pursue — and it turns out, he’s rather good at it.
Trump has his eye on the field of Democratic dreamers who are fighting to be the top of the 2020 presidential ballot—and his tongue is sharp as ever as a critic. Whether it’s a tirade of tweets or scathing commentary at one of his grand rallies, Trump has a gravity of influence with his words. He’s changing minds. And his opponents can’t ignore it.
As Trump rides a popularity wave, he’s pinpointing potential Democratic rivals like former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Tex., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
When the gritty Minnesota senator announced her campaign run outside in the stark snowfall, Trump had this to say:
Well, it happened again. Amy Klobuchar announced that she is running for President, talking proudly of fighting global warming while standing in a virtual blizzard of snow, ice and freezing temperatures. Bad timing. By the end of her speech she looked like a Snowman(woman)!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 10, 2019
When O’Rourke launched a counter-rally in El, Paso, Texas—the same night as Trump’s—the native Texan was ridiculed by the president for the poor turnout results.
“So we have let’s say 35,000 people tonight, and he has 200 people, 300 people,” Trump said. “Not too good. In fact, what I would do is, I would say, that may be the end of his presidential bid.”
With his own nomination on the Republican side all but guaranteed Trump is using this time to effectively critique the field. His voice, whether believable or not, is an impact once it hits the airwaves. And his unpredictability leaves the media speculating about his tactics ahead of 2020.
In a clever move, he even praised Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., after her campaign rollout rally. Harris has styled her campaign as being the opposite of Trump… so his praise sucks a lot of the air out of her sails.
Trump’s commentary on other candidates is largely what earned him the White House bid. On his road to Washington D.C. he attacked Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., to secure his place at the top of the GOP ticket.
And none of them were ever able to recover.
The incoming Democrats may face that same result.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.