Race for the White House and battle to oust Trump just got interesting

WHILE Irish attention is firmly focussed on the looming General Election – and what the result will mean for Brexit – across the pond the race for the White House just got a lot more interesting. Though deeply unpopular across huge swathes of the US, President Donald Trump’s astonishing political style – or lack of it – and his unprecedented ability to survive scandal after scandal, all point to the fact that the incumbent is still widely predicted to win a second term in 2020.

Predictions of a Trump win have been bolstered by a less than stellar line-up of challengers in the Democratic party where the primary battle has failed to hot up and remains a rather tepid affair.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders look to have the best chance of securing the Democratic nomination but many question whether they have the support to mount anything more than a token challenge to Donald Trump.

Mr Biden has been the subject of a crude but effective smear campaign by Mr Trump and his team who – without having any real evidence – have managed to link his name with corruption in the Ukraine.

Elizabeth Warren has proven a popular figure and an able campaigner but many view her as too similar to Hilary Clinton.

Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders – who lost out to Clinton in the 2016 nomination race – is popular with more left leaning Americans but his particular brand of politics may not have a broad enough appeal to oust the President.

The lukewarm reception to the Democrats’ leading candidates looks to have spurred a new entry into the race and one which could upend all expectations.

While he is yet to formally enter the race, it now looks increasingly certain that billionaire financier, publishing magnate and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is about to join the fray.

At 77 his age may count against him – he is a year younger than Sanders and a year olden than Biden – and, if elected, he would become the oldest person ever elected President.

Given that Trump is 73, he may not be keen to bring age into the battle so Bloomberg’s advance years might not be as much of a disadvantage as they initially appear.

Aside from his age, Michael Bloomberg is a highly experienced politician and his vast wealth would allow him to mount a powerhouse national campaign against Trump.

Bloomberg’s personal fortune of over $52 billion eclipses Trump’s ‘paltry’ $3.1 billion and the former New York Mayor appears happy to splash as much cash as necessary to force his fellow New Yorker out of the Oval Office.

He will also be no stranger to the President’s abrasive way of doing business and having sparred with Trump for decades he is well equipped to take him on in an election.

Could the best candidate to unseat an old, white billionaire be an older and even richer one?