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“If I were going to do it, I would do it because I would think I would have concluded that I could maybe unify the country, because it’s bigger than any one person.” – Eric Holder

Eric Holder may run for president in 2020.

Holder, the nation’s first African-American U.S. Attorney General, recently admitted that he’s considering challenging President Donald Trump for the White House.

“I’m thinking about it but I have not made any determinations,” Holder told MSNBC. He added: “Our democracy is under attack.”

Holder, who served as Attorney General during the Obama administration, would be a welcomed entry into the presidential race – America needs an adult with intelligence, integrity and honesty in Oval Office and, like former President Barack Obama, Holder possesses all of those character traits.

Pundits say Holder’s June 1 appearance at the annual “Politics and Eggs Breakfast” in New Hampshire could signal Holder’s intention to run for the White House in a bid to become America’s second African-American president.

New Hampshire is a small but very important state for presidential politics. Past speakers at the New Hampshire breakfast include President Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

Last month, on the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination, Holder spoke passionately about the ongoing crusade for social justice.

“We’re still marching, we are still striving, and we’re still calling on our nation’s leaders to act with a sense of justice, compassion and common humanity,” Holder told a crowd in Memphis, Tennessee. “The unfortunate fact is that in 2018, America’s long struggle to overcome injustice, to eliminate disparities and eradicate violence has not yet ended, and the age of bullies and bigots is not fully behind us.”

And during an April appearance for Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network’s annual conference, Holder sounded very much like a candidate on the stump.

The audience cheered “Run, Eric, Run!” after Sharpton jokingly said he “heard Eric Holder was running for president.”

Holder wasted no time tearing into the Trump’s White House.

“The present administration wants to take us back to the failed leadership of the past,” Holder said. “They’re not being tough on crime. They’re not being smart on crime. They’re being dumb on crime. [The] formerly incarcerated continue to face significant obstacles, and they now face a hostile administration intent on making law enforcement an instrument of the fear they use to divide and try to govern us.”

As the nation’s top lawyer, Holder, a father, and self-described social activist, championed Obama’s signature program — “My Brother’s Keeper” – designed to uplift the nation’s Black boys and young men of color.

Several years ago, I secured one of Holder’s last lengthy sit-down interviews before he resigned from the U.S. Department of Justice.

I spent an hour with Holder in his office talking about criminal justice reform, Black boys, fatherhood, civil rights, voting rights, and Obama’s legacy.

“When we think about the legacy of this President, I think this will be one of those critical parts,” Holder told me.

“I think to put the full weight of the presidency and the federal government behind an effort that is directed at a community within our nation that has for too long at best been forgotten and at worse mistreated, to mobilize the weight of the federal government is something that will serve him well as history judges him,” Holder said.

I followed Holder’s career as Attorney General. Obama and Holder were a formidable team.

It was inspiring to watch two of the most powerful Black men in the nation working together as a political tag team to openly criticize misguided Republicans who were bent on blocking Obama’s legislative agenda.

Holder, like Obama, usually took the high road. He largely ignored Republican low-blows, snide remarks, disrespectful racial jokes, and downright lies.

He told the truth and stood for equality for all Americans and often spoke out about empowering African-Americans who faced discrimination.

The 2020 presidential campaign is a long way off, but Trump has already announced his intention to run for re-election although most Republican congressional leaders have not committed to Trump’s candidacy.

Holder, I believe, would be an impressive opponent and he’s everything Trump isn’t: He is a smart lawyer, he understands complex legislative policies; he has a proven track record for managing a large government agency; he is a steadfast advocate for civil rights; he has compassion for all of America’s citizens; he is a bridge-builder — and he doesn’t tweet nonsense every day.

It’s too early to make endorsements for president, but since Holder said he’s considering throwing his hat in the ring, I say toss it early and often.

What do you think?

PHOTO: PR Photos

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Is Eric Holder A Legitimate Hope For President In 2020?  was originally published on blackamericaweb.com