Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams said today that she had long seen 2028 as the "earliest" she could see herself running for president but later tweeted "2020 is definitely on the table" as she weighs her next political move.
Abrams, in an interview at SXSW in Austin, Texas, referred to a quote from her book where she said she keeps a spreadsheet to document her goals.
"In the spreadsheet with all the jobs I wanted to do, 2028 would be the earliest I would be ready to stand for president because I would have done the work I thought necessary to be effective in that job," Abrams said.
After the interview, Abrams insisted in a tweet that the comment did not mean she has ruled out running for president next year.
"In #LeadFromTheOutside, I explore how to be intentional about plans, but flexible enough to adapt. 20 years ago, I never thought I’d be ready to run for POTUS before 2028. But life comes at you fast," Abrams tweeted. "2020 is definitely on the table…"
Abrams’ former campaign manager, Lauren Groh-Wargo, also tweeted after the interview that the quote referring to the old spreadsheet did not mean Abrams was ruling out running for president next year.
Abrams remarks "were in reference to her years-old spreadsheet, not her current considerations. She is taking a look at all options on the table in 2020 and beyond," Groh-Wargo tweeted.
Abrams rose to prominence last year during her campaign for governor of Georgia, which she lost by 1.4 percentage points. National Democrats have urged her to run against Republican Sen. David Perdue next year, but she has also been considering a potential presidential campaign in 2020 or running for governor again in 2022.
Abrams has given a timeline of late March or early April for a decision on her next moves, and she did not update that timeline in the interview Monday.
"My task is to make certain that a Democrat is elected not only to the White House but that we have a Democratic majority in the Senate and a Democratic majority in Congress," Abrams said.
Abrams also answered "yes" when asked during the interview if she thinks President Donald Trump is a racist.
"I think he’s racist, I think he’s xenophobic, I think he’s homophobic. I think he has disdain for anything that he considers different than the norm," Abrams said. She also called Trump a "bully" but said she doesn’t thing Democrats would defeat him next year by adopting similar tactics.
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"I think beating Donald Trump is the wrong mission. When you’re focused on your enemy then you are ignoring your allies," Abrams said.