Former President Bill Clinton thinks that Donald Trump could very well win the Republican primaries and become the party nominee for 2016.
Clinton appeared on CNN Saturday morning and, when asked about Trump, the former president noted that the real estate mogul is a “master brander.”
“And when you’ve got a lot of people running,” Bill Clinton continued, “and people are trying, got to make distinctions, being able to put a personal stamp on it so people identify who you are, certainly counts for something, at least in the beginning.”
CNN host Fareed Zakaria then asked Clinton if he thinks Trump could become the GOP nominee.
“I think so,” Clinton replied. But he then went on to note that he is “not the best pundit anymore” and that he doesn’t have a “good feel” for the topic.
Bill Clinton also noted that Trump’s harping on trade imbalances with China is a key element in how he is perceived by voters. Still, the former commander in chief thought that more debates would help clarify things for Republicans.
“But he’s got a lot of pizzazz and zip, he’s branded himself in a clear way and he’s generated some excitement,” Clinton insisted. “And it remains to be seen what’s going to happen.”
But ever ready to slam the enemy, Bill Clinton went on to say that Democrats are ready for a meaningful debate on the issues, while “over there” with Republicans, “it seems to be more about resentments and one-liners.”
CNN’s Zakaria notably decided not to press Bill Clinton on the fact that the Democrat Party is actually trying to limit the very debates that the former president claimed his side was ready for.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston, or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.