Tucker Carlson warned Republicans not to assume President Trump will be reelected in November, especially if Sen. Bernard Sanders becomes the Democratic nominee.
“Republicans are starting to think that victory is assured. That’s a mistake,” the host of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” told viewers Monday during his Fox News opinion program. “America remains as divided as it was three years ago. So no matter what happens, nobody is going to win this election in a national landslide. Those don’t happen anymore. Trump could lose. Will he lose? That depends entirely on what he runs on.”
The conservative commentator subsequently predicted that thousands of people who voted for Mr. Trump in 2016 could end up casting ballots this year for Mr. Sanders, Vermont independent, should the senator receive the Democrat nomination to run for president in November.
“The candidate who makes it easier for 30-year-olds to get married and have kids will win the election and will deserve to win,” Mr. Carlson reasoned. “Remember that. It’s truer than any economic theory conceived on any college campus in the last 100 years. Improve people’s lives and they will vote for you, period.
“Bernie Sanders may get the Democratic nomination. And if he does, every Republican in Washington will spend the next 10 months reminding you that socialism does not work and never has worked. And they’ll be right, obviously,” Mr. Carlson continued. “But if Sanders pledges to forgive student loans, he will still win many thousands of voters who went for Donald Trump last time. Why? Because debt is crushing an entire generation of Americans. Republicans need a make a plan to make it better, or they will be left behind.”
Mr. Sanders, who unsuccessfully campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, is currently among several candidates seeking the party’s nod to run against Mr. Trump in November.
Polling data aggregated by the RealClearPolitics website indicates Mr. Sanders currently maintains a slight lead — 48-to-45 — over Mr. Trump in a hypothetical head-to-head presidential race.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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