Bannon and Maher Say Avenatti Could Be “The Trump of 2020”

Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:08 pm

Michael Avenatti was in New Hampshire yesterday, raising money for Democrats while he explores a presidential run.

Avenatti is emphatic about one thing. He is not on “a listening tour,” he told The Washington Post by phone, because that’s something politicians say. He is definitely not a politician.

The veteran trial attorney has been on an endless media circuit as the lawyer for Stormy Daniels. He has been honing his media skills and has earned a reputation as a fighter and a top antagonist for President Donald Trump. And for this, millions of Democrats love him.

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But he says he has not decided yet whether he will run against Trump in 2020.

He says that whoever the Democrats nominate needs to be a “fighter.” And that’s what he is. Because of this he thinks he could be a serious threat to a second Trump term.

And former Trump adviser Steve Bannon agrees with him.

“Avenatti’s got a fearlessness,” Bannon, the Republican strategist told Bill Maher on Friday night on HBO. “And he’s a fighter. I think he’ll go through a lot of that field, if he decides to stick with it, like a scythe through grass.”

It is a new age, Bannon said, where a political background may not be the best path to the White House. Maher agreed. “Avenatti could be the Trump of 2020, the guy who’s the outsider, who blows through the regular politician because he looks different,” he said.

Bannon told Maher that “if Bernie Sanders had an ounce of Michael Avenatti’s fearlessness, he would have been the Democratic nominee,” not Clinton.

Avenatti and Bannon both think that he has traits that helped propel Trump to the presidency. He speaks directly, is not afraid to be confrontational, and he has success in a field other than politics.

Speaking of the Republican Party, Avenatti said:

“They recognize perhaps they have a problem on their hands, and I happen to agree with them. If I decide to do this, I’m going to surprise a lot of people.”

The 2020 Democratic presidential field will be very crowded. There will be many typical politicians running, but only one Michael Avenatti. And in assessing the possible competition he would face, Avenatti declined to say which Democratic contender he thinks could beat Trump.

But he suggested it just may be him. He has been “placed in this moment in history. . . . I may be able to solve this dumpster fire of a presidency,” he said.

Michael Avenatti may or may not be destined to become president. But one thing we know for sure, he’s not afraid to find out. And he may be Donald Trump‘s worst nightmare.



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