Twitter has exploded with pleas for Hillary Clinton to reconsider whatever thoughts she might be having about another shot at the presidency after her former adviser suggested she would run as a liberal firebrand in 2020.
A Wall Street Journal opinion piece co-authored by Mark Penn, Clinton’s adviser in 1995-2008, came out under a somewhat clickbaity headline: “Hillary Will Run Again.” The 2016 Democratic presidential candidate herself never said she would or would not do that, but the authors – Penn and former Manhattan Borough president Andrew Stein – believe that a “Hillary 4.0” is on the way.
“Get ready for Hillary Clinton 4.0. More than 30 years in the making, this new version of Mrs Clinton, when she runs for president in 2020, will come full circle – back to the universal-health-care-promoting progressive firebrand of 1994,” they wrote in the op-ed published on Sunday. Penn and Stein believe that Clinton should lean further left, capitalizing on the #MeToo movement, advocating universal healthcare and stricter gun laws.
All of that, along with her burning desire to avenge a “humiliating loss at the hands of an amateur,” will allow her to “easily capture the 2020 [Democratic] nomination,” the piece argues.
While the op-ed is largely speculative, it comes just two days after the former secretary of state hinted that she just might be launching another bid. Having said that she does not want to run, Clinton paradoxically admitted that she “would like to be president” during a questions-and-answers session on Friday.
The op-ed’s authors suggest that Clinton won’t hurry to jump in the race at first, but will do so “definitely by the time the primaries are in full swing.”
The prospects of Clinton giving it another go, however, are not so thrilling even for those who have been dreaming of a Democrat retaking the White House in 2020. Some have already started panicking, with one commentator tweeting that a remake of the Clinton-Trump showdown will “signify the end of humanity.”
Even members of the anti-Trump resistance crowd mostly appeared to agree that recycling candidates is not a very good idea if one wants to challenge Trump.
Bernie Sanders supporters were understandably enraged by the suggestion, accusing Clinton of privatizing the Democratic Party.
There were some enthusiastic voices cheering for Clinton, however, they appeared to be a minority, at least on Twitter.
If there is a person who will rejoice at the news of “Clinton for 2020,” it’s her nemesis, Trump himself, many noted.
Ahead of the midterms, Trump told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham that he “would be very happy with Hillary” as his opponent, adding that so far he “likes” all his potential challengers.
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