Despite dismal polling and the increasing likelihood of a Joe Biden candidacy, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has attempted to cast himself as the best alternative to Hillary Clinton, hitting the 2016 Democratic front-runner for her Wall Street ties and charging that she doesn’t have the “independence” needed to govern the financial sector.
The former Maryland governor pitched himself as a new leader for the Democratic Party during a Monday night interview on “The Daily Show,” seeking to separate himself from a Democratic field dominated by political veterans like Clinton, Vice President Biden, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Asked by host Trevor Noah what had changed since his endorsement of Clinton in the 2008 presidential election, O’Malley responded that “as our times change, as our challenges change, I believe that new leadership is required,” and he argued that “I represent our better days.”
He went hard after Clinton for her financial sector connections, noting that “She said in the debate, ‘I represented Wall Street.’ And yes, she did. And I believe she hasn’t the independence needed to protect the main street economy from excesses on Wall Street.”
O’Malley also advocated for national gun control laws. He trumpeted background check legislation passed while he was governor of Maryland and suggested that “after mass shooting after mass shooting — surely we’re capable of taking better actions than what we’ve taken,” citing “a growing majority of Americans who believe this is crazy.”
O’Malley has struggled for months to gain traction with Democratic voters but has had little success — and soon he may be facing an even greater uphill climb, as speculation grows over a Biden White House bid.