Trump 'workshopping nicknames' for Democratic presidential candidates running in 2020

Donald Trump has reportedly spent his time in recent weeks crafting nicknames for a slate of 2020 Democratic candidates, requesting the counsel of his White House aides to weigh in on potential epithets for his new opponents.

Inside the West Wing and in conversations with outside allies, the president has been workshopping other attempts to imprint his new adversaries with lasting labels, according to two people on whom the president has tested out the nicknames. They spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations with the president.

He is also testing out lines of attack in public rallies, they said, exploring vulnerabilities he could use against them should they advance to the general election.

Mr Trump’s commentary reflects a peculiar sense of disengagement from the events of the day, as though he were a panelist on the cable news shows he records and watches, rather than their prime subject of discussion. In an interview with The New York Times, the president assessed Kamala Harris’ campaign like a talk show regular, declaring her opening moves as having a “better crowd, better enthusiasm” than the other Democrats.

Crowd size was also at play last week when he held a rally in El Paso, Texas, that was countered a few blocks away by one led by Beto O’Rourke, a potential 2020 candidate.

“So we have let’s say 35,000 people tonight, and he has 200 people, 300 people,” Mr Trump observed at the time, wildly exaggerating both numbers. “Not too good. In fact, what I would do is, I would say, that may be the end of his presidential bid.”

When Amy Klobuchar announced her candidacy on a frigid day in her home state of Minnesota, Mr Trump anointed her with a nickname of sorts, and a benign one at that: “By the end of her speech she looked like a Snowman(woman)!” the president wrote in a tweet.

But no candidate has drawn more commentary and criticism from Mr Trump than Elizabeth Warren, the liberal Massachusetts Democrat. Ms Warren’s past claims of Native American heritage prompted Mr Trump to brand her “Pocahontas” and he has shown no qualms about deploying racially charged barbs harking back to some of the nation’s darkest abuses.

Wading into a Twitter frenzy over an Instagram video Warren posted after she announced her exploratory committee while sharing a beer with her husband at their kitchen table, Mr Trump jeered: “Best line in the Elizabeth Warren beer catastrophe is, to her husband, ‘Thank you for being here. I’m glad you’re here’ It’s their house, he’s supposed to be there!”

Presidents traditionally ignore their potential opponents as long as possible to maintain their status as an incumbent floating above the contenders who are auditioning for a job they already inhabit.

Mr Trump, however, has show he is eager to shape the debate, sow discord and help position himself for the general election. It’s just one more norm to shatter, and a risky bet that his acerbic politics will work to his advantage once again.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.