Montana’s former Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer thinks running for president would “ruin” his life—but he’s pretty sure he’d be a great president anyway.
The former governor is considered a potential 2016 candidate, but said on Monday’s Morning Joe that he’s not sure if he’ll run because “it would ruin my life.”
“I haven’t decided that,” he said when asked directly if he’d run. Schweitzer said concern for his family and his life was holding him back from making a decision at yet.
“Take a look at what has happened to the president,” he said, adding concern for his family. “I have a pretty good life in the private sector right now.”
But—you know, hypothetically, if he were to run—would he be a good president? “I think so. Let me tell you why.”
“As governor, I spent eight years, every single year I was governor we had the largest budget surplus in the history of Montana. I cut more taxes than any governor in the history of Montana, invested more new money in education.”
“If a Democrat is good with money, you can’t beat ’em,” he added.
Schweitzer has been dipping his toes in the waters of a primary battle recently. Last month, he took a not-too-subtle swipe at presumed frontrunner Hillary Clinton over the Iraq war, digging in on the former secretary of state’s vote to authroize the Iraq war—a key part of Barack Obama’s primary campaign against her. He touted his brand as a fiscally responsible liberal. “Democrats who just write checks and don’t check how much money is in the bank account, they hurt our brand name,” he said. “When you’ve got a Democrat like me who is good with money and Republicans have to admit it, they say, ‘Oh, we don’t want to run against him again.’” Schweitzer ended the segment by gifting host Joe Scarbrough with a belt buckle, emblazoned with “Montana.”
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