Former Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday night did not dismiss rumors he will run for president in 2020.
He told The New York Times that if he ran for president, he would do so because he felt he could unify and advance the country.
In a TimesTalk interview streamed online, Times reporter Alex Burns asked the former Obama attorney general, who has remained active in politics but noncommittal about running for office, to explain why he would or wouldn’t enter the race in 2020.
“If I were going to do it, I would do it because I would think I would have concluded that I could maybe unify the country, because it’s bigger than any one person,” Holder said.
{mosads}“That I could repair and then advance the nation in a variety of contexts. That I had something to contribute. That would be — I think that would push me toward considering the run,” he continued.
“On the negative side, I’ve been in public life a fair amount of years. I remember unpleasant hearings with some congressmen who are now leaving. And you know, to subject myself and my family to that could be a negative,” he added.
Holder has previously spoken about a desire to take a more active role in national politics since President Trump took office.
He created and leads the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which is targeting several key battleground states ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. Holder said the group is targeting “trifectas,” which are states where Republicans control the governor’s mansion and both state legislative chambers.
This week, Holder said the group intends to take legal action to stop the Trump administration over its decision to add a question about citizenship to the 2020 census.