How Democrats can compete with Trump’s 2020 campaign pitch

Analysis: The large field running to take on the president means it is harder for candidates to make themselves heard

There was nothing new in Donald Trump’s pitch to his supporters during his 2020 election campaign launch – his fervent base were sated with references to how a vote for the “socialist” Democrats would be a vote for the “destruction of the American dream” and that the president would crack down harder on immigration.

The president knows his core support inside-out, he speaks to them daily on Twitter and receives thousands of likes and retweets in return. He has had four years to hone his message as the outsider who will fight for the people. In Orlando, Trump – a man who spends quite a lot of time at his private club in Florida – said that his political movement was about reclaiming power “from a permanent political class that enriched itself at your expense”.

Across dozens of rallies around the country during his White House tenure, Trump has never really stopped campaigning. His 2020 bid is a direct continuation of his 2016 campaign. On Tuesday night, as well as the immigration talk and Democrat-baiting, the crowd were treated to the usual constant moaning about the press and “fake news” and the old favourite of chanting “lock her up” whenever former rival Hillary Clinton was mentioned.