Report: Gov. Jay Inslee wants to ‘play poker with Donald Trump’

Washington State Governor Jay Inslee has avoided answering any questions about his presidential aspirations directly. Still, there was a lot of speculation over 2018.

Aside from an exploratory committee formed last month (which is raising money), nothing has cemented Inslee’s intentions as much as a recent interview in the Atlantic, where the Washington governor still does not say he’s officially running, but does state:

I’m really happy to be in a confrontation with (President Trump). I’m comfortable in that conversation. You have to do two things in beating Donald Trump: One, you have to show dignity and that you can help America to become united again, and you can help America rise to the better angels rather than our lower behavior—[while] at the same time, demonstrating a strength of character and a core conviction that you’re not going to be pushed around or bullied, and you’ve had it with his lower human behavior.

Inslee later added, “I want to play poker with Donald Trump. I really do.”

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Edward-Isaac Dovere with the Atlantic writes that Inslee’s presidential potential is fueled largely by climate change policies. Should he run, tackling the effects of climate change and embracing new technology and industries will be a primary focus. It was this cause that the governor recently promoted on CNN.

Other candidates have perhaps not made the environmental issue as prominent as Inslee, making it an issue he can brand himself on — making him stick out from the crowd.

Inslee is the only one who has actually run a government that has made climate-change policy central. He points to the towns in Washington that have become solar-cell farms, among other accomplishments. There’s also his plan to expand the use of electric ferries.

Governor Inslee has yet to show up on the radar for many Americans, however. A recent roundup for The Hill features the top 10 Democrats running or considering running for the 2020 presidential election. Inslee is not included on list list. He’s not even included in a handful of “other potential candidates” noted in the article. Instead, the list (mostly senators) spans Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Former Vice President Joe Biden, and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

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