Trump surveys South Carolina supporters on preferred Democratic opponent

President Trump on Friday polled a crowd of supporters ahead of the South Carolina primary to gauge who they believed would be an easier opponent in November. 

The president sought to take advantage of the state’s open primary, which allows voters to cast a ballot without registering with a party.

“Are we allowed to tell them who we would like them to vote for?” Trump asked supporters during a rally in North Charleston, seeking his supporters’ opinion on who “the best candidate for us” would be.

Trump used the premise to swipe at several Democratic presidential hopefuls. He said he would not include billionaire Tom Steyer, chiding him as a “loser,” or Michael Bloomberg or Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) because he felt they stood little chance of winning the nomination.

“She’s not dumb, but she’s just so damn mean,” Trump said of Warren.

Trump then had supporters applaud for either Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) or former Vice President Joe Biden based on which one they felt would be an easier general election opponent. After two surveys of the crowd, Trump determined the crowd felt Sanders was the choice. 

A Fox News poll released Thursday showed Sanders leading Trump by 7 percentage points in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, and Biden leading the president by 8 points.

Sanders has established himself as the front-runner in the primary, having won the New Hampshire primary and Nevada caucuses and finishing a close second in Iowa. But Biden has led most polls in South Carolina ahead of Saturday’s primary, thanks largely to the strength of his support among African American voters.

All of the Democrats will be competing on Super Tuesday next week, when more than a dozen states hold voting in the Democratic race. More than a third of all delegates up for grabs in the nominating contest are at stake next week.