Barack and Michelle Obama can help Democrats defeat Trump in 2020: Harry Reid

Ever since the race for the 2020 Presidential elections kicked off, both civilians and political experts are closely watching the former first couple, Barack and Michelle Obama. Will the Obamas intervene and if yes, when? Which Democratic presidential candidate would they rally behind and what would their support mean for the party? Although to date the couple has refrained from getting involved in the ongoing race, Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid believes they could be the key to avoiding a brokered Democratic convention. Speaking to NPR ahead of the third caucus, in his home state, Nevada, he said the party might need to consider intervention if the field stays tight all the way up to the convention.

As of now, the Democratic party has a total of eight candidates fighting it out in the race for the nomination. Of these eight, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Pete Buttigieg currently stand ahead of Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar, Tom Steyer, Tulsi Gabbard, and Bloomberg. Although the list of candidates featured a whopping 25 names at the beginning of this year, many have dropped out of the race since with Andrew Yang being one of the latest to do so.

Given the currently splintered Democratic field, Reid predicts that Democratic heavyweights Barack and Michelle Obama might have to step in to broker a deal. "We're going to have to see if we can broker a deal. Maybe we could even get Barack Obama to do it. The two most popular people in the country, and perhaps the world, are Barack and Michelle Obama," he said. Reid, who retired in early January 2017, also suggested that party leaders might have to tell some of the remaining candidates that they are "better off throwing [their] support to somebody else so we don't have to have a brokered convention."

Meanwhile, speaking to The Washington Post, Reid predicted that campaign funds running out might avoid the threat of a brokered convention altogether. "A lot of this will work its way out. A lot of people are in the race still, but they’ll be dropping off quick because the money is running out. So I think you’re going to have the field winnowing fairly quickly," he said. Although recent polls indicate that Bernie Sanders is well ahead of other Democratic candidates, Reid believes other established favorites in the race could block him from the nomination if they broker a pact and agreed on one candidate.

"And you have most of the people who are not Bernie Sanders, are people who are moderates, and maybe they’ll work something out to get together and try to find that one person who can come up with the number of delegates. Maybe that’s one way to do it," said Reid. As for the Obamas emerging as last-minute saviors for the Democratic party, many have long predicted that the former first lady would throw her hat into the ring, and take a shot at being President herself.

In August last year, filmmaker Michael Moore urged Michelle to run for President given her standing among Americans. According to The Huffington Post, he said, "She is a beloved American, and she would go in there, and she would beat him. She would beat him in the debates, he wouldn’t be able to bully her, he wouldn’t be able to nickname her." Moore added that "the only way to remove Trump is to crush Trump. And that’s the question that has to be asked, who can crush Trump? Who’s the street fighter? She (Michelle) would beat him."

Although the Obamas have mostly refrained from commenting on the Presidential race, the former President made an exception in November last year when he warned the Democrats against going too far left. Urging candidates to be pragmatic in their messages to voters, Obama said that "the average American doesn’t think we have to completely tear down the system and remake it." According to CNBC, he added, "Even as we push the envelope and we are bold in our vision we also have to be rooted in reality."