Here Are the Four Things a Democratic Presidential Candidate Will Need to Beat Trump in 2020
George W. Bush
Then  we have to keep in mind that Democrats underestimate successful Republicans at their own peril. Nobody thought  George W. Bush  could ever become governor of Texas. Then  he  beat Ann Richards â a cult figure in the state â by 8 points. When  he  won  his  re-election as governor   Bush  got an astounding 69 percent of the vote.  Al Gore  was a virtual shoe-in to win the presidency in 2000. A two-term vice president who inherited a healthy economy   Gore  then lost in a head-to-head race with  Bush . For four straight years  Democrats mocked  him  as an inarticulate fool. With  his  approval rating tanking as the Iraq War became an obvious quagmire   Bush  still won re-election against then-Sen. John Kerry. Say what you want   George W. Bush  was a nearly unbeatable politician.
Trump is a Godzilla of a political opponent.  He  wields  his  46.5 million Twitter followers  23 million Facebook followers  and 8.2 million Instagram followers to not just dominate and shape every single news cycle  but to mock and ridicule  his  opponents.  He  has a media machine â Fox News  Breitbart  and increasingly places like the Wall Street Journal â that are more than willing to amplify  his  message. And  at the receiving end  there are millions of people who will believe  him  and vote for  him .
 He  literally told over 2 000 lies in  his  first year in office yet consistently goes on about âfake news.â On Wednesday   he  had the gall to say  he  wished the United States had tougher libel laws to hold people accountable for their dishonest attacks.
Trump won 30 different states in the 2016 general election. Sixty-three million people voted for  him . Even though  he  was the least popular presidential candidate in the history of modern politics   he  won.  He âs now the president of the United States. And  he  got there even after more than a dozen women came forward to say  he  sexually assaulted or harassed them. Trump was elected even after a recording was released of  him  admitting  he  sexually assaults women.  He  was elected even after mocking Sen. John McCain  R-Ariz.  for being a prisoner of war.  He  was elected even after blaming the questioning  he  received from a debate moderator on  her  menstrual cycle.  He  was elected even after allegations circulated that  he  brutally raped and assaulted  his  first wife in a rage after a scalp reduction surgery. Even after the Ku Klux Klan endorsed  him  and Neo-Nazis openly attended  his  campaign events  Trump won.
 He  is formidable. Ask Jeb Bush. Ask Hillary Clinton. Their political careers are over. When Trump beats you in a head-to-head match-up  itâs hard to recover.
If Trump werenât the opponent  a traditional Democratic primary  full of governors most of the nation has never heard of and senators they are likely tired of  might produce a candidate who could defeat the Republican incumbent. Even against Trump  itâs still possible that a traditional Democrat â an upstart in the party  or even an established member â could slog their way through a tough primary  capture the nationâs attention  rise up  and beat  him .
But going against the presidentâs massive online influence and the right-wing media machine that allows  him  to dictate so much coverage is far more difficult than it appears. As a result  there are only a few particular people who I believe can easily defeat Trump in a presidential election  who could enter the race with a good fighting chance.
Then  we have to keep in mind that Democrats underestimate successful Republicans at their own peril. Nobody thought   [TGT] could ever become governor of Texas. Then   [TGT]   beat Ann Richards â a cult figure in the state â by 8 points. When  he  won  his  re-election as governor    [TGT] got an astounding 69 percent of the vote.  Al Gore  was a virtual shoe-in to win the presidency in 2000. A two-term vice president who inherited a healthy economy   Gore  then lost in a head-to-head race with  [TGT]  . For four straight years  Democrats mocked  him  as an inarticulate fool. With  his  approval rating tanking as the Iraq War became an obvious quagmire    [TGT] still won re-election against then-Sen. John Kerry. Say  [TGT] was a nearly unbeatable politician.
Trump is a Godzilla of a political opponent.   [TGT]   wields   [TGT]   46.5 million Twitter followers  23 million Facebook followers  and 8.2 million Instagram followers to not just dominate and shape every single news cycle  but to mock and ridicule   [TGT]   opponents.   [TGT]   has a media machine â Fox News  Breitbart  and increasingly places like the Wall Street Journal â that are more than willing to amplify  his  message. And  at the receiving end  there are millions of people who will believe   [TGT]   and vote for   [TGT]  .
  [TGT]   literally told over 2 000 lies in   [TGT]   first year in office yet consistently goes on about âfake news.â On Wednesday    [TGT]   had the gall to say   [TGT]   wished the United States had tougher libel laws to hold people accountable for their dishonest attacks.
Trump won 30 different states in the 2016 general election. Sixty-three million people voted for  him . Even though  he  was the least popular presidential candidate in the history of modern politics   he  won.  He âs now the president of the United States. And  he  got there even after more than a dozen women came forward to say  he  sexually assaulted or harassed them. Trump was elected even after a recording was released of  him  admitting  he  sexually assaults women.  He  was elected even after mocking Sen. John McCain  R-Ariz.  for being a prisoner of war.  He  was elected even after blaming the questioning  he  received from a debate moderator on  her  menstrual cycle.  He  was elected even after allegations circulated that  he  brutally raped and assaulted  his  first wife in a rage after a scalp reduction surgery. Even after the Ku Klux Klan endorsed  him  and Neo-Nazis openly attended  his  campaign events  Trump won.
 He  is formidable. Ask Jeb Bush. Ask Hillary Clinton. Their political careers are over. When Trump beats you in a head-to-head match-up  itâs hard to recover.
If Trump werenât the opponent  a traditional Democratic primary  full of governors most of the nation has never heard of and senators they are likely tired of  might produce a candidate who could defeat the Republican incumbent. Even against Trump  itâs still possible that a traditional Democrat â an upstart in the party  or even an established member â could slog their way through a tough primary  capture the nationâs attention  rise up  and beat  him .
But going against the presidentâs massive online influence and the right-wing media machine that allows  him  to dictate so much coverage is far more difficult than it appears. As a result  there are only a few particular people who I believe can easily defeat Trump in a presidential election  who could enter the race with a good fighting chance.