Barack Obama has been preparing for the next US presidential
election in 2020 as the world leader has met with at least nine contenders to run against
Donald Trump including
Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren,
Joe Biden and Deval Patrick for one-on-one meetings at his
Washington office.
It is understood the meetings have taken place at Obama’s personal office on the third floor of the World Wildlife Fund building, and have included discussions on the future of the Democratic Party.
Mr Sanders, who lost to Hillary Clinton in the Democrats’ primaries, has more respect for Obama and his former administration than most believe, sources told Politico.
And it is understood the Democrat requested a meeting with the former president in mid-March.
Meanwhile Ms Warren has met with Mr Obama on at least two separate occasions since he left office in January 2017.
The first was in the spring of 2017 after Warren revealed she was “troubled” by the $400,000 Obama received after speaking at Wall Street investment firm.
She also met with the former US President for a 90-minute chat in April after she told CNN's Jim Acosta in March: ”I am not running for president in 2020.”
Another 2020 Democrat favourite is former governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick, who is a close friend of the Obamas.
Mr Obama’s strategist David Axelrod is said to have had several conversations with Mr Patrick about running and has devised potential strategies for the Democratic primaries ahead of the election.
So far Mr Patrick has not ruled out running for president and saying last year: “I’m trying to think about how to be helpful, because I care about the country, and I’m a patriot first.
“It’s way, way too soon to be making plans for 2020. So I’ll just leave it at that.”
An insider, familiar with the meetings, said: “The president Obama was generous with his time and advice, and he was excited to talk about the future,” said one person familiar with one of the meetings.”
Allies of former president Obama also believe Mr Patrick is the perfect match to continue the Democrat’s legacy.
A former senior White House aide previously told Politico: “If you were to poll 100 notable Obama alumni, the only two people who would win that 2020 straw poll right now are [Joe] Biden and Patrick.”
Former vice president Joe Biden has also remained close with Obama speak by phone, and the former vice president also came by for an in-person meeting in January.
According to insiders, he is waiting until after the midterms to make a decision on 2020, although many people see him as leaning toward it.
In January, before he had officially entered office, Trump confirmed he would run again in the 2020 presidential election.
The US President said he had decided ‘Keep America Great’ would be his 2020 reelection campaign slogan and on January 20, 2017, he filed a form with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) declaring his candidacy for the 2020 Presidential election.
In April last year, it emerged President Trump’s 2020 campaign committee had already raised around £5.7 million ($7.1 million) for his re-election in the first three months of 2017.
At the time the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, a joint venture between the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC), also collected more than £7.8 million ($9.8 million) in total receipts.
While Trump Victory – which includes the Trump campaign, the RNC and 11 state parties – received about £53,506 ($67,000) during the same period.