California Congresswoman Maxine Waters could become the Democratic nominee for president in 2020.

Let me repeat that, so it can sink in: Maxine Waters could be the Democratic nominee for president in 2020.

Ok, let me blow into a breathalyzer, take a drug test and get psychologically evaluated before I say it a third time: Maxine Waters could be the Democratic nominee for president in 2020.

How is it possible that a radical congresswoman, who was just called “un-American” by the leadership of her own party for encouraging viral confrontations with Trump administration officials, could win the presidential nomination of a major American political party?

It’s easy. Mad Max is the only one dancing to the beat of the “Resistance,” and her album is about to go platinum.

Consider this, after musical icon Prince died in 2016, we learned a bunch of fascinating tidbits about the reclusive singer, including the fact that he had a wildly competitive rivalry with the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

Apparently, Prince’s low opinion of M.J. stemmed from the fact that he thought that Jacko’s lyrics were low-brow.

In an interview with comedian Chris Rock, Prince was asked why he backed out of performing in the music video for “Bad.” “The first line of that song is ‘Your butt is mine.’ Now, who is going to sing that to whom? Cause [he] sure ain’t singing that to me, and I sure ain’t singing it to [him],” he quipped.

Michael Jackson, on the other hand, was less concerned with the lyrics, and more concerned with the beat. He felt that if people got into the beat of a song, the lyrics were almost irrelevant.

As it turns out, more music fans care about the beat than the lyrics.

A lot more fans.

To date, Michael Jackson has sold more than 750 million albums worldwide, compared to Prince’s 100 million.

There is no comparison.

The same rules apply to the world of politics.

If you don’t believe me, go back to the 2016 Republican primary.

Many of the 17 major candidates in the race understood the “lyrics” of the race just fine. Whether you’re talking about former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, or Texas Sen. Ted Cruz … all of them said and did the right things, and even dressed the part.

However, only one candidate understood the “beat” of the electorate: Donald Trump.

Pundits were quick to call him a reality show buffoon, and write him off as a shameless self-promoter who had exactly zero chance at winning the election.

Well, that turned out to be fake news.

It didn’t matter that then-candidate Trump was using salty language, or challenging Republican orthodoxies in any number of ways — he understood the mood and frustrations of the electorate better than anyone in the race.

He didn’t need to back the Brinks truck to the loading dock outside the offices of overpaid consultants, to know that the American people were furious over illegal immigration and believed the U.S. was getting screwed in our trade deals with other countries. He just knew it.

On the Democratic side of the aisle, I challenge you to find a politician or media personality who has better expressed the anger, frustration and rage of the “Resistance” better than Maxine Waters.

Joe Biden? Puh-leeze.

Kamala Harris? No way.

Hillary Clinton? You’ve got to be kidding me.

Nope, the woman who is the biggest rock star with liberals right now is Auntie Maxine. And since she gets their beat, they don’t care if her lyrics are profane or off key.

So, let me say it one final time: it is very possible that in the summer of 2020, Maxine Waters could be the Democratic nominee for president.

John Phillips is a CNN political commentator and can be heard weekdays at 3 p.m. on “The Drive Home with Jillian Barberie and John Phillips” on KABC/AM 790.