Donald Trump Says His ‘dream' Is to Run Against Beto O'Rourke

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump dreams of running against Beto O'Rourke next year, saying that in any case, the El Paso Democrat is already the media-anointed chosen one."When I watch Beto, I say we could dream about that," he said in an interview that aired Friday on Fox Business Network's "Mornings with Maria."O'Rourke has long challenged Trump's demands for a border wall, noting El Paso's low crime rates and statistics showing that illegal border crossings are far lower than a decade ago, accusing Trump of stirring irrational fears to justify the project.For Trump, propping up O'Rourke is a way to keep a focus on his signature campaign promise. He triggered a five-week government shutdown because Congress refused his demands for wall funding, then declared a national emergency to shift money from military construction projects."So you have Beto. And Beto comes out and he says, `Let's take down the wall,' " Trump told Fox. "If you ever took down the wall, this country would be overrun."Fox host Maria Bartiromo asked Trump who he would most like to face in 2020 and whether his ideal opponent would be O'Rourke. The former three-term congressman came close to toppling Trump ally Sen. Ted Cruz last year in Texas, raising a staggering $80 million."My attitude is, I wouldn't mind. I mean, I'd love to have Biden. I'd love to have Bernie, I'd love to have Beto. I mean, Beto seems to be the one the press has chosen. The press seems to have chosen Beto," Trump said.Former Vice President Joe Biden has remained on top of polls among Democrats, though he hasn't said whether he will run. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist who was runner up to Hillary Clinton in 2016's nomination fight, is, like Biden, three decades older than O'Rourke and also older than the president himself.Trump's former top strategist, Steve Bannon, former executive chairman of Breitbart News, said Thursday in Rome, where he was addressing a conservative group, that Trump has most to fear if Democrats nominate O'Rourke and Sen. Kamala Harris of California."Beto on the ticket with Harris is the most dangerous ticket for Trump," he said.O'Rourke has long held Trump's attention. The president railed against him at a rally for Cruz in Houston two weeks before Election Day."Ted's opponent in this race is a stone-cold phony named Robert Francis O'Rourke, sometimes referred to as Beto. And he pretends to be a moderate, but he's actually a radical open borders left-winger," he said.Trump flew to El Paso on Feb. 11 for a campaign rally of his own, using the visit to amplify his demands for a massive border wall.O'Rourke organized and led a counter-rally. Each drew roughly 10,000, though Trump falsely insisted that O'Rourke's event had only 200 or 300 people, a sad showing for "a young man.""That may be the end of his presidential bid," Trump said.  Continue reading...