Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 candidacy is starting to look more like the failed presidential candidacy of Beto O’Rourke, the former Texas congressman whose campaign started out on a high note and then devolved ultimately into a desperate, hopeless mess.
Warren’s donations are down, her polling numbers have plummeted, and she is running away from Medicare for All, the crown jewel of her domestic policy proposals, all of which has left her in the pitiful position of bragging about the number of “selfies” she has taken on the campaign trail.
The Massachusetts lawmaker was asked Wednesday during an appearance on MSNBC whether she has any concerns about the polls. Though the senator is currently in third place in the 2020 Democratic primary, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average, she has also seen a 12-point decline in support since her high point in July 2019.
“I should start out by saying I just don’t comment on polls, and I actually don’t really look at them,” Warren said. “But, I’ll tell you this, the best part of this whole year has been doing what I do, which is getting out and doing town halls. It’s reaching out to people. It’s reaching out to voters in New Hampshire and Iowa, but all across this country.”
She added, “I don’t spend time at closed-door fundraisers. I don’t spend a lot of time with billionaires and millionaires and corporate executives. It means I’ve had time to go all around the country.”
Anymore. She meant to say, “I don’t spend time at closed-door fundraisers … with billionaires and millionaires anymore.” I am sure it is just an accident, a persistent, reoccurring accident, that she keeps using language that suggests she did not, in fact, privately court top-dollar donors in the days leading up to the launch of her 2020 candidacy. Because she most absolutely did. It was not until after her primary campaign got off the ground that she began speaking out against wealthy donors.
“I’ve been to 29 states and Puerto Rico,” Warren continued. “I’m closing in on 200 town halls. We’ve already shot past 100,000 selfies. And what that means is about reaching out to people, face to face, talking about the issues that matter to them.”
Oof. In response to a question about her declining support, Warren actually chose to highlight her campaign “selfies.” It gets worse. She did not leave it at just that one remark.
“The word I hear the most in the selfie line is ‘hope,’ and it actually at first kind of surprised me, because I’m not a grand orator,” Warren said Wednesday. “But I talk about what’s broken. I talk about how to fix it. And I’m out there building a grassroots movement to get it done, and I’m loving every minute of it.”
Earlier, on Saturday, Warren’s Twitter account also highlighted her “selfies” milestone, writing, “It’s official: #WarrenSelfie 100,000 in Manchester, Iowa! I don’t spend my time asking rich donors for big checks — I spend it with voters. Our selfie line gives me a moment (or 100,000) to meet our movement.”
It’s official: #WarrenSelfie 100,000 in Manchester, Iowa! I don’t spend my time asking rich donors for big checks—I spend it with voters. Our selfie line gives me a moment (or 100,000) to meet our movement. pic.twitter.com/IgDMFs8Z4E
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) January 4, 2020
That is good and all, but about those poll numbers? Also, while we are at it, whatever happened to Medicare for All?
