Elaine Kamarck, a member of the Democratic National Committee and a 2016 superdelegate, said retired Admiral William McRaven could be a good candidate to run against President Trump.
As Democrats struggle to find a 2020 candidate and different names are being floated, Kamarck told the Washington Post that an outsider like the 63-year-old McRaven, who oversaw the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden, might be a good move.
“You can imagine much stronger candidates,” Kamarck, who has been a member of the DNC since 1997, said of the current slate of candidates.
The comment comes just days after McRaven published an op-ed in the New York Times with the headline “Our Republic Is Under Attack From the President,” where he admonished Trump’s leadership.
He noted “assaults on our institutions,” including the State Department, intelligence officials, law enforcement, and the press.
“They have seen our leaders stand beside despots and strongmen, preferring their government narrative to our own. They have seen us abandon our allies and have heard the shouts of betrayal from the battlefield,” McRaven said.
“If this president doesn’t demonstrate the leadership that America needs, both domestically and abroad, then it is time for a new person in the Oval Office — Republican, Democrat or Independent — the sooner, the better,” he said. “The fate of our Republic depends upon it.”
McRaven was commander of the United States Special Operations Command from 2011 to 2014 and commander of Joint Special Operations Command from 2008 to 2011.
Democratic front-runner Joe Biden, 76, has struggled with worries relating to his age and has had issues with his memory on the campaign trail. Bernie Sanders, 78, also recently had a heart attack, also prompting age-related concerns.
Both Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who has been on the rise, have raised worries among some in the party that they are too liberal to beat Trump in a general election campaign, while other more moderate candidates have failed to gain traction in national and state polling.
Other names being floated as possible late additions to the field include former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The Washington Examiner reached out to McRaven for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
