Last weekend, two more candidates joined the list of Democrats jostling to be president: Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.
On Saturday, Warren made her bid official. At the kickoff, she condemned a “middle-class squeeze” that allows “too little accountability for the rich, too little opportunity for everyone else.” Warren hopes the message will help quiet the controversy over her past claims to Native American heritage. (Years ago, Warren filled out one or more identification cards claiming she was part of the Cherokee Nation, a claim the tribe rejects.)
Hours later, President Donald Trump tweeted, calling Warren “Pocahontas” and saying he would see her “on the campaign TRAIL.”
Warren quickly fired back: “By the time we get to 2020, Donald Trump may not even be president. In fact, he may not even be a free person.” Her comments referenced investigations surrounding the president.
During her Sunday announcement, Klobuchar told the crowd, “As your president, I will look you in the eye. I will tell you what I think. I will focus on getting things done.”
Klobuchar didn’t utter Trump’s name during her speech. But she did bemoan “foreign policy by tweet.”
In turn, Trump pointed out the irony of Klobuchar’s stance on global warming and the arrival of a snowstorm during her outdoor announcement. He tweeted that Klobuchar talked proudly “of fighting global warming while standing in a virtual blizzard of snow, ice, and freezing temperatures.”
The list of Democrats already in the race features several well-known senators—Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. Some believe the field could soon expand to include former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. With the Democratic National Convention still over 17 months away, these candidates are in for a marathon race to the presidential finish line.
(U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar wipes snow from her hair after announcing she is running for president of the United States, February 10, 2019, in Minneapolis. Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via AP)
