Donald Trump wants to run against Bernie Sanders. How do we know? Just consider what he said last week during an Oval Office rant. “Frankly, I would rather run against Bloomberg than Bernie Sanders,” Trump told reporters, “because Sanders has real followers, whether you like them or not, whether you agree with them or not — I happen to think it’s terrible what [Sanders] says.”

For anyone who’s been following Trump’s pronouncements, you know he usually says the opposite of what he truly believes. So, Trump wants to run against Bernie Sanders, not Mike Bloomberg. Unlike Trump, Bloomberg is a real self-made billionaire who could, and would, outspend him big time. He has stated he is willing to “spend whatever it takes” to defeat Trump. This is very appealing to many Democratic voters.

You just know Trump is salivating at the chance of running against a self-described democratic socialist. The word “socialist” is such a toxic, and misunderstood, word, that many political pundits do not think it would play well with swing voters in crucial states that would reject the radicalism of Sanders’ background and ideas.

So, in Trump’s mind, he gets re-elected if Sanders is the Democratic nominee. A win.

Then there’s this pro-Bernie tweet today:

The Crooked DNC is working overtime to take the Democrat Nomination away from Bernie, AGAIN! Watch what happens to the Super Delegates in Round Two. A Rigged Convention!

Like his own cultish followers, Trump knows Bernie supporters are fiercely loyal. If there is a brokered convention, which looks quite possible, and it appears to Sanders’ die-hard army of supporters that they have been cheated out of the nomination by the Democratic establishment … again … many will protest by not voting for the eventual nominee.

You could call it the ultimate voter suppression … but totally legal and brought to you courtesy of the Democratic Party.

So, in Trump’s calculation, if a good chunk of Bernie backers stay home and do not vote for the Democratic nominee, or vote for a third-party candidate …. like last time … again he wins.

There you have it. Whether or not Bernie is the Democratic presidential nominee, it’s a win-win … for Trump.

Photo | commondreams.org