Joaquin Castro talks about twin's possible 2020 presidential run
Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, is hoping his twin brother and former HUD Secretary Julian will run for president in 2020 -- a move he feels would revitalize the Democratic Party and defeat President Trump.
"He's definitely thought about it," Castro told Major Garrett over empanadas and chips and guac on the latest episode of "The Takeout." Whether his brother will ultimately take the plunge has yet to be determined, but Rep. Castro believes 2020 is as good a time as any.
"And have you told him that?" asked Garrett.
"Yes," Castro responded.
The twins, both Harvard graduates and born only a minute apart, have run parallel lives in politics for years. Often mistaken for one another, the "younger" Castro, Joaquin, insists things would be different if his twin were in the White House.
"If he decides to run," Rep. Castro joked, "I will grow a beard, I'll go bald, I'll do something so that we do not look alike, I promise you."
The Texas congressman also predicts a victory for his party in November's midterm elections, and he's feeling good about the prospects of a big win in his own state, where Democrat Beto O'Rourke is campaigning to take Republican Ted Cruz's seat in the U.S. Senate.
In May, on the Daily Show, Castro predicted O'Rourke would end up victorious, and he now says he's even more sure of it.
"If you look historically at midterms, the president's party usually gets hammered. And so I believe there is going to be a storm that would hit the Republicans just like there was for Democrats in 2010 and 2014," he told Garrett. "And I just didn't know whether it would be a category 3 storm or a category 5 storm. I think it's going to be a category 5 storm."
Castro is counting on voters to reject President Trump for obstructing justice, deceiving the American people about his extramarital affairs and their coverups, and his "treacherous" performance on the world stage next to Vladimir Putin last week.
"He went to foreign soil, standing next to Vladimir Putin, who interfered with the 2016 presidential elections, the American elections, and basically took Vladimir Putin's word at the expense of the American people and the American intelligence community."
This, Castro sees as an anti-American act.
"I've never seen anything like that. And I don't know that anybody's seen anything like that."
While a few members of his party have called for President Trump's impeachment, Castro, a lawyer and member of the House Intelligence Committee, says he'll wait until special counsel Robert Mueller reveals all of his findings.
For more of Major's conversation with Castro, download "The Takeout" podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or Spotify. New episodes are available every Friday morning.Also, you can watch "The Takeout" on CBSN Friday and Saturday nights at 9pm ET/PT. For a full archive of "The Takeout" episodes, visit www.takeoutpodcast.com. And you can listen to "The Takeout" on select CBS News Radio affiliates (check your local listings).
Producers: Arden Farhi, Katiana Krawchenko and Jamie Benson
CBSN Production: Alex Zuckerman, Blair Guild and Eric Soussanin
Show email: TakeoutPodcast@cbsnews.com
Twitter: @TakeoutPodcast
Instagram: @TakeoutPodcast
Facebook: Facebook.com/TakeoutPodcast