M. Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO 2020 elections Gov. Jay Inslee on listening to Carole King, wanting an anchor tattoo In addition to discussing climate change, nuclear proliferation and more, we asked the Washington Democrat some lighter questions.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee spoke to POLITICO Friday as part of a series of interviews with Democrats seeking to challenge President Donald Trump in 2020.

In addition to discussing climate change, nuclear proliferation and more, we asked him some lighter questions:

If you had to go on a road trip with one of the other 2020 Democrats, who would it be?




"I'm going to go with (former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian) Castro. Because he seems like a really nice guy. And I don't know him that well. So, I'd like to get to know him."

Q: "Where would you want to go?"

A: "Wherever he wants to go. I'm a get-along-to-go-along kind of guy."

What was the worst moment of your political career so far?



"In 1994, I was a freshman congressman in Yakima, Washington. It was a 65 percent Republican district. Things were not going the way the Democrats hoped. And a bill came up to ban assault weapons. And Chuck Schumer called me up, said, 'We only need three more votes. Can you vote for this?' And I said, 'Chuck, you know, if I vote for this, I'm gonna lose my seat.' And he said, 'Yeah, I know that.' I said, 'You don't care do you?' He said, 'No, I don't care. That's your problem.'

So, when the bell rang, I went over and voted to ban assault weapons. And when I did that, I knew I was gonna lose my seat. That is not an easy decision. And as a consequence, on Election Night, I had one of the most painful things in my life, actually, was when my wife figured out we were going down. And she looked across the room. And, excuse me, I'm emotional about this. It was so painful to see the look on her face when she understood something we'd worked on wasn't going to happen.

So, that was the worst moment. But it was also the best moment because, skip forward a quarter of a century, and I've got the NRA on the run big time. We've now passed three major gun-safety bills, and I'm running for president of the United States, in part because I believe we should continue to have the NRA on the run. And although that was painful, I have never regretted that vote for a second. Because it was a vote of conscience, and it had the capacity to save lives. That is a unique privilege to be in public service to do something like that. So, it was the worst of moments. It was the best of moments. And Trudy and I are doing really well. And she's smiling now."

What is your favorite band or album?



"It changes. Yesterday it was Jimi Hendrix, 'Experience.' Today it's Carole King's 'Tapestry' because she's been trying to get the Democrats to hold a climate debate."



Have you ever met Trump?



"I am confident in my ability to stand up to him because I've already done it. I went to the National Governors Association last February. This is after the school violence. And his argument was, 'We'll just give Glock pistols to first-grade teachers. And that's a solution.' And a bunch of my colleagues were genuflecting to him, and it just made me ill to see them toadying up to this guy. And I just confronted him and told him what an idiotic idea this was and told him he needed to quit tweeting so much and he needed to start listening to educators more. I feel comfortable in that."

Q: "And you told the president that directly?"

A: "He did this, and you've seen this before." (Crosses his arms and pouts.)

Do you have any tattoos? And if not, what would you get if you got one?



"Well, this is highly privileged information. I believe in the rights of privacy, but I will answer your question anyway. No, I don't have a tattoo. But when I was about eight, I wanted a tattoo so bad. I wanted to be a sailor when I grew up. My dad was in the Navy in World War II. And so, I took a pen, and I kept drawing an anchor on my shoulder, and my mom kept scrubbing it off every night. She eventually won the battle: No tattoos."

Q: "Is that what you would get if you were to get one now?"

A: "Oh, an anchor, no question."

Q: "Does your dad have any tattoos?"

A: "No. My dad was a biology teacher and coach. And he was a pretty straight-laced individual, had a really nice crew cut. And he believed in discipline and teamwork, and he was a very loved person. And one of the joys now is, when I go around the state, I meet these 75-year-old guys and they say, 'Hey, was Frank Inslee your dad?' And I go, 'Yeah.' And they said, 'Yeah, I played with him.' And those guys were my heroes, and I get to meet them 56 years later, and they were gods, they were Greek gods to me ... Now, I meet them, and they're old people who still remember the glory days. And we sing the Bruce Springsteen song 'Glory Days.'"