Tim Scott: Sanders would be toughest challenger for Trump

Republican Sen. Tim ScottTimothy (Tim) Eugene ScottHouse Republicans hopeful about bipartisan path forward on police reform legislation Rand Paul introduces bill to end no-knock warrants OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: Joint Chiefs chairman says he regrets participating in Trump photo-op | GOP senators back Joint Chiefs chairman who voiced regret over Trump photo-op | Senate panel approves 0B defense policy bill MORE (S.C.) said Monday that, of the Democrats running in the presidential primary, Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersThe Hill’s 12:30 Report: Milley apologizes for church photo-op Harris grapples with defund the police movement amid veep talk Biden courts younger voters — who have been a weakness MORE (I-Vt.) would pose the toughest challenge to President TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE.

Asked if he thinks Sanders is the biggest threat to Trump right now, Scott told CBS’s Gayle KingGayle KingCBS’s Gayle King to host live call-in radio show on coronavirus The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Democrats delay convention over coronavirus Fauci dismisses death threats: ‘It’s my job’ MORE, “I do think so.”

“I would say that the biggest threat to President Trump is President Trump,” Scott added on “This Morning.”

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“If he’s on his game, as he was at the State of the Union, I don’t think there’s a candidate in the country that can beat him,” Scott said of Trump. “If there is a second choice other than himself, it would be Bernie Sanders.”

Scott said Sanders brings “that outsider game in a similar fashion” to what Trump did in 2016, adding that “Republican wisdom said there’s no way in the world out of the 17 candidates, Donald Trump will be the president.”

“The tea leaves suggest that the Democrat Party is looking for every way to stop Bernie Sanders from winning even if he has the plurality; which I think would cause an implosion on the foundation of the Democrat Party,” Scott said.

The vast majority of Democratic officials when asked have said that they will support whoever the nominee is, although some moderates, such as South Carolina Rep. Joe CunninghamJoseph CunninghamRepublican Nancy Mace to face Joe Cunningham in South Carolina House race OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Trump rule limits states from blocking pipeline projects | EPA finalizes rule to regulate cancer-linked chemical | Democrats want Congress to help plug ‘orphan’ oil and gas wells Gun control group rolls out House endorsements MORE (D), have been reluctant to say they would support Sanders if he wins the nomination.

Asked earlier this month if he would support Sanders if he wins the nomination, Cunningham, one of only two Democratic Congress members from the state, told The Post and Courier that “Bernie Sanders will not be the nominee.”

Scott also told CBS News he believes billionaire Mike Bloomberg would be the easiest candidate for Trump to defeat.

Scott’s prediction comes as Democratic voters in his state prepare to cast their ballots in the presidential primary on Saturday.

Sanders is leading the field after wins in New Hampshire and Nevada and a close second-place finish in Iowa. South Carolina is the first state in the primary with a significant portion of black voters.

The top candidates will face off in a debate Tuesday night in South Carolina ahead of the primary.

Scott said one of Sanders’s opponents has to take him on “head-to-head” in the debate in order for the primary to change.

“You saw Bernie Sanders almost unscathed during the [Nevada] debate. That’s perhaps the most dangerous combination you could see on the debate stage. Someone being targeted but the front-runner being left alone,” Scott said, referencing candidates’ attacks on Bloomberg. “If things are gonna change for this nation, from a Democrat perspective, someone’s gotta take Bernie Sanders on head-to-head tomorrow night. The thriller in South Carolina.”