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Stormy Daniels Lawyer Michael Avenatti May Run For President In 2020 Against Trump

Carissa Dunlap

Trump just might have an opponent ready to challenge his seat in the Oval Office. Stormy Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti said on Wednesday he would run for president in 2020 if Trump sought reelection. There is a catch though. Avenatti said he would run only if he believes no other candidate would successfully be able to run against the President. 

“If (big) he seeks re-election, I will run, but only if I think that there is no other candidate in the race that has a REAL chance at beating him,” Avenatti tweeted on Wednesday, after someone asked when he would announce his 2020 run. “We can’t relive 2016. I love this country, our values and our people too much to sit by while they are destroyed. #FightClub #Basta.”

Avenatti is currently battling Trump in the courts on behalf of adult film star Stephanie Clifford (AKA Stormy Daniels), who claims she had an affair with the president in 2006. According to CBS News, Daniels claims that she received $130,000 in hush money from Trump’s previous lawyer Michael Cohen right before the 2016 presidential elections. Later, Daniels filed a suit in California asking to remove the non-disclosure agreement that has prevented her from talking about the alleged scandal. Trump has denied the affairs, according to CNN. Her case also accuses Michael Cohen of defamation. 

According to Avenatti’s tweets, he thinks he could be the nontraditional candidate this country needs to beat Trump. “To those that claim that only a tradition politician with ‘experience’ can beat Trump, go back & look at the results from 2016. He beat all 15 of those candidates that he faced (crushed many). If we go down the same path and are not smart, don’t be surprised with the result.” 

He appeared on CNN later and hinted at a possible presidential platform focused on breaking down Trump’s immigration policies, raising the US international reputation, and targeting America’s unemployment. The attorney has shown his clear disdain for the president ever since he began representing Daniels. He’s frequently criticized the administration’s policy on separating family at the border. As well, he’s mentioned that other women have claimed to have had affairs with Trump, News Week reports. 

Avenatti has previously tweeted that whoever faces Trump in the 2020 elections better be “a take no prisoners street fighter” who is ready for a “brutal campaign”.  

Interestingly though, Avenatti has mentioned before having no interest in any type of political career. “I am extremely flatter[ed] by the suggestions that I attempt to become AG or run for the House or Senate but I have ZERO interest in those jobs. None. I don’t want to become a career politician. We have too many as it is,” he tweeted just this weekend. 

It seems that he has changed his mind about the position in a matter of days! He also mentioned how he is really only interested in “exposing the truth about Mr. Trump’s conduct and fighting like hell for the principles that matter so the American people can decide what happens next.” 

Who knows if Michael Avenatti will actually run for president in 2020 against Trump, but his growing presence in the larger narrative surrounding the Trump presidency remains one to watch.

Carissa Dunlap is a Her Campus News X Social Intern for Summer 2018. She is a current Publishing major and Journalism minor at Emerson College (Class of 2020). When she isn't perusing the YA bookshelf at the bookstore, she can be found watching dog videos on Facebook, at her favorite coffee shops, or relaxing on the beach. Follow her on Instagram @dunlapcarissa or Twitter @Caridunlap.