New rumors about who will challenge Trump in 2020 emerge every single day.
Everyone from celebrities, to far left politicians, and even some Republican primary challengers are in the rumor mill.
But this billionaire is the latest rumored candidate, and he just made a bold move towards a run.
There are very few rumored candidates for office against Trump that are richer than he is.
One of the few whose net worth trumps that of the President is Mark Zuckerberg.
Having founded Facebook in a Harvard dorm room in his early twenties, Zuckerberg is now the 5th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $72.7 billion.
In contrast, President Donald Trump’s net worth is estimated at $3.5 billion.
For months, rumors have been spreading about a potential Zuckerberg run in 2020.
Zuckerberg has stoked many of these rumors by having a tour of America earlier this year, where he took multi-city stops in electoral battleground states, including Iowa where he toured a number of small towns.
But Zuckerberg’s latest move separates him from every other known potential Trump challenger.
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, recently hired Democratic pollster Joel Benenson.
Benenson was a former top advisor to President Barack Obama and the chief strategist for Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 presidential campaign.
Benenson was hired as a “consultant” according to a person familiar with the hire.
According to Politico:
“Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have hired Democratic pollster Joel Benenson, a former top adviser to President Barack Obama and the chief strategist for Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 presidential campaign, as a consultant, according to a person familiar with the hire.
Benenson’s company, Benenson Strategy Group, will be conducting research for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the couple’s philanthropy. The organization — whose mission statement, according to its website, is “advancing human potential and promoting equality” — is endowed with the couple’s Facebook fortune.
Zuckerberg and Chan have vowed to give away 99 percent of their Facebook shares, worth an estimated $45 billion, to charity. Bringing on Benenson is the latest sign that they’re pushing their philanthropic work more heavily into the political and policy world.”
This isn’t the first left-wing operative hired by Zuckerberg.
In January, Zuckerberg and his wife hired David Plouffe.
Plouffe was the former campaign manager for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential run.
Both of these hires are rumored to be politically motivated.
Both Benenson and Plouffe have huge pull within Democratic Party, where Zuckerberg would most likely seek the nomination to run in the general election.
As someone virtually unknown within the Democratic Party, it would be very important for him to have those two on his side.
While Zuckerberg has so far denied his intention to run, these hires are keeping his name in the pool of perspective Trump challengers.
What do you think? Could Mark Zuckerberg beat Donald Trump in a general election?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
