Democratic presidential hopeful Steve Bullock
Steve BullockTwo federal judges rule in favor of mail-in voting in Montana, Alabama OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Interior Secretary will lead BLM after judge ousts Pendley from public lands role | Trump, Biden spar over climate change at debate | Trump official delays polar bear study with potential implications on drilling: report Interior Secretary will lead BLM after judge ousts Pendley from public lands role MORE warned Wednesday that intraparty rifts within the crowded primary field threaten to undermine the party’s larger ambitions of defeating President Trump
Donald John TrumpTrump and Biden's plans would both add to the debt, analysis finds Trump says he will back specific relief measures hours after halting talks Trump lashes out at FDA over vaccine guidelines MORE in 2020.
Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., the Montana governor recalled the explosive clashes between centrists and progressives that erupted during the second round of Democratic primary debates in Detroit last week.
“As I stood on that debate stage last week and then listened to that next night, I saw [Trump’s] reelection becoming more likely with each passing minute,” Bullock said.
“Let me put it plainly: We cannot defeat Donald Trump’s politics of personal destruction if we practice the politics of self-destruction,” he added. “The fact is, we are well on our way to losing this election long before it ever really even is started.”
Tensions between competing factions of the Democratic Party have simmered in the presidential primary field for months. But they burst into public view last week as the candidates argued over their views on health care, immigration and criminal justice reform.
The debate also saw some candidates turn on the legacy of former President Obama, one of the Democratic Party’s most popular figures.
New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio (D), for instance, repeatedly pressed former Vice President Joe Biden
Joe BidenTrump and Biden's plans would both add to the debt, analysis finds Trump says he will back specific relief measures hours after halting talks Chance the Rapper, Demi Lovato to play digital concert to encourage voting MORE on what he did to curb immigrant deportations during the Obama administration. And Julián Castro, the Housing and Urban Development secretary under Obama, suggested that Biden had failed to acknowledge the shortcomings of the administration in which he served.
“It looks like one of us has learned the lessons of the past and one of us hasn't," Castro said, addressing Biden.
Trump himself addressed the intraparty clashes that broke out during the debates.
"The Democrats spent more time attacking Barack Obama
Barack Hussein ObamaTrump's luck finally runs out Obamas celebrate their 28th wedding anniversary and encourage people to vote Obama sends well wishes to Trump, hopes he is 'on path to speedy recovery' MORE than they did attacking me, practically," Trump told supporters at a rally in Cincinnati on Thursday.
Bullock, who has polled near the bottom of the pack of two dozen Democratic candidates, made his inaugural appearance in the presidential debates last week after he failed to qualify for the first round of primary debates in late June. He was the first to speak during the debates in Detroit and knocked "wish list economics" from progressives.