Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, one of President Donald Trump’s fierce critics, said at a town hall meeting on Saturday that she plans on taking a “hard look at running for president” after the midterm elections on Nov. 6, the Boston Globe reported.
Many speculated that Warren would run in 2016 for the Democratic presidential nomination before campaigning for Hillary Clinton. She cited Trump’s handling of the country and how Republicans have responded to sexual assault charges against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as increasing her interest, according to the Globe .
Before Saturday, Warren brushed away such questions by saying she was concentrating on getting re-elected to the Senate in November, the newspaper stated. The populist senator is running against Republican Geoff Diehl and Independent Shiva Ayyadurai to keep her seat.
“But let’s face it: Donald Trump is taking this country in the wrong direction,” Warren told the town hall crowd, according to the Boston Globe . “I am worried down to my bones about what Donald Trump is doing to our democracy.”
In front of a supportive crowd of more than 500 in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Warren showed her emotions while describing her view of Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing where Christine Blasey Ford testified against Kavanaugh.
Ford, a college professor in California, had charged that Kavanaugh tried to rape her during a high school house party when both were teenagers more than 30 years ago. Kavanaugh, a current federal appeals court judge, has denied her allegations and sexual behavior charges made by two other women.
“I watched powerful men helping a powerful man make it to an even more powerful position,” Warren told the audience Saturday, per the Globe . “And I thought, ‘Time’s up.’ It’s time for women to go to Washington and fix our broken government and that includes a woman at the top.”
“After Nov. 6, I will take a hard look at running for president,” Warren added as the audience applauded, the newspaper said.
There is no love lost between Warren and Trump, who has taunted the Massachusetts senator on the campaign trail and while as president, nicknaming her “Pocahontas.” The name-calling was in reference to Warren saying that she has Native American ancestry, according to USA Today .
Warren’s announcement would immediately put her in strong contention in what is expected to be a crowded field for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. That field may include fellow U.S. senators Kamala Harris, of California, and Cory Booker, of New Jersey, per USA Today , possibly along with former Vice President Joe Biden and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
The Globe wrote that Warren has already been scoring brownie points by campaigning for fellow Democrats across the country this midterm season in battleground states, like Nevada and Ohio, both critical if a Democrat plans to win the presidency in 2020