Donald Trump is reportedly most concerned about the prospect of running against Barack Obama’s erstwhile deputy Joe Biden in 2020, compared to other potential candidates.
The US president is worried the veteran Democrat will appeal to his support base of white working class voters, Mr Trump’s advisers told US political news outlet Axios.
They also reportedly said Mr Biden conveyed authenticity and was willing to trade verbal blows, making him a daunting contender for Mr Trump at the next US election.
Other rumoured challengers such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who propose liberal policies, are thought to be favoured by the young and African American demographics.
Mr Biden has often touted his birthplace – Scranton, Pennsylvania – as emblematic of his working-class upbringing.
The former vice president, who at the age of 75 is three years Mr Trump’s senior, has not said if he is planning to run at the next presidential election, but said he was contemplating it.
In March, he said if he does not run “it’s not because I’m afraid of losing, it’s because there’s somebody better to do it”.
“We’re in a battle for the soul of this nation,” he said.
Early this year, a heated exchange took place between Mr Biden and the US president in which they discussed who would win in a physical fight.
“A guy who ended up becoming our national leader said, ‘I can grab a woman anywhere and she likes it,’” he said at a University of Miami rally in Florida.
“If we were in high school, I’d take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him.”
Mr Trump responded in a Twitter post by claiming the former vice president “would go down fast and hard” if they fought each other.
