Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said Sunday he does not currently intend to launch a White House bid in 2020 but is keeping his cards close to his chest in case he changes his mind.
“I get asked this all the time,” the one-term governor, who is unable to seek re-election due to state laws on consecutive terms, told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I’m the governor of the commonwealth of Virginia. I have five months to go [and] I want to finish here strong.”
He continued, “We’ll see what happens down the road, but I have no intentions of running for president. My intention is to finish here strong.”
McAuliffe has been a frequent critic of President Trump, recently urging him not to visit Charlottesville, Va., in the wake of the violent rally that took place earlier this month. The Democratic governor accused Trump of further “dividing” Americans with his response to the white supremacist rally.
If he did run in 2020, McAuliffe would join a lengthy list of Democrats who backed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election and want to ensure Trump does not secure a second term.
“Everybody is trying to get their name in the paper saying they’re running for president,” he told Tapper. “I will be very clear: I am the one guy that [is] keeping their name out of the paper.”
“I’m not telling anybody,” he said.
