Trump Says He's 'Rooting' for One Democratic Hopeful

Sean Hannity asked President Trump for his thoughts on the Democratic 2020 hopefuls at the end of a Fox News interview Thursday night—and the president obliged, sounding as if he was discussing a substandard crop of Celebrity Apprentice contestants. Trump said he is calling Joe Biden, who entered the race Thursday, "Sleepy Joe" because he has known him for a while "and he is a pretty sleepy guy," Politico reports. He said Biden would be unable to deal with the likes of Chinese President Xi Jinping because it would require "a different level of energy and, frankly, intelligence." Bernie Sanders, Trump said, has energy, but it's "misguided energy. He’s done very poorly in terms of the Senate."

Trump said Beto O'Rourke is "a fluke" who is "fading very fast" and will be "a thing of the past soon." Moving on to Kamala Harris, he said "I think she's got a little bit of a nasty wit, I think that’s about it." Trump was more positive about South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg, though he didn't explain why, the Washington Post reports. "I'm rooting for him, but he is not going to make it," Trump said. Earlier in the interview, Trump described the FBI's investigation of his campaign as a "coup." "This was an attempted overthrow of the United States government," he said. He also said Attorney General William Barr is looking into "incredible" allegations that Ukrainian officials leaked information about Paul Manafort to help Hillary Clinton's campaign. (More Election 2020 stories.)