3.1k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

Advertisements

Donald Trump went on an unhinged ramble against his potential 2020 opponents during a campaign rally in Tennessee on Monday night, targeting Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Trump saved his toughest attacks for Biden, who he says was taken “off the trash heap” by Barack Obama. He also challenged Biden to a fist fight, saying he would love to take on the ex-veep.

While the out-of-control president thinks he sounds tough, his attacks on Biden show how truly terrified he is of the former Vice President.

Trump says he would love to have a fistfight with Joe Biden, referring to Biden once saying he wanted to fight him. He says he calls Biden “1% Biden,” because of how badly he did in Democratic primaries. He says Obama “took him off the trash heap.” — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) October 1, 2018

Advertisements

Trump is also no doubt looking for ways to distract from the absolute dumpster fire that Brett Kavanaugh‘s confirmation process has turned into.

A short time ago, new text messages obtained by NBC News show not only that Kavanaugh lied (again) under oath, but the judge was tampering with potential witnesses against him.

Trump is terrified of Biden 2020

The attack on the former VP comes as Biden “actively explores a 2020 presidential run,” according to The New York Times.

The report notes that Biden believes he can win back rust-belt states that Trump flipped during the 2016 campaign.

The Times reports, “At a Manhattan fund-raiser for Richard Cordray, the Democratic nominee for governor of Ohio, Mr. Biden sounded a determined note, saying he could take back once-Democratic regions, like the Midwest, that had drifted away from the party.”

Some Biden supporters are also floating ideas they say could help boost Biden’s candidacy, like a one-term commitment or a young running mate announced early in the campaign.

Either way, Trump knows that Biden would be formidable in appealing to some of the same voters that helped put him over the top in 2016. As I wrote in July, Trump‘s support in the heartland has collapsed since he was elected.

As Axios also reported in July, “Advisers to President Trump say Joe Biden is the Democrat he most fears running against, and that Pennsylvania is the state he worries most about flipping against him.”

On Monday night Trump had two reasons for going after Biden: 1. He’s afraid he’ll run against him in 2020; and 2. He’s looking for something – anything – to distract from his crumbling Supreme Court nominee.

Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook.