Michael Avenatti announces policy positions as he weighs 2020 bid

Michael Avenatti, the lawyer representing adult-film actress Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against President Trump, released a litany of policy positions Tuesday on Twitter as he explores a 2020 presidential bid.

Avenatti, who has said in recent days that he is looking at a 2020 bid, issued policy stances on issues such as the economy, health care, trade, immigration, education, gun control and foreign affairs, among other topics.

{mosads}On many issues, Avenatti adopts platforms that are popular with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, such as calling for a “Medicare for all” plan, criticizing trade deals that “prioritize corporations and disadvantage American workers,” providing full-throated support for unions and stricter gun control, and labeling “money in politics” as “the root of all evil in politics.”

In some areas, Avenatti has stopped short of positions staked out by progressives such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). While Avenatti calls for making college more affordable and for reducing “the crippling debt loan … that is trapping millions of young people for life,” he stops short of supporting free public colleges and universities, as Sanders did during his 2016 presidential campaign.

On immigration, Avenatti strongly criticizes President Trump’s proposed border wall and expresses staunch support for the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, but he rejects calls among some liberal Democrats to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), saying, “We should not eliminate ICE but we must change the way ICE carries out enforcement.”

Many have asked me my position on various issues. Below is a summary of where I stand. This is not an exhaustive list and more positions & details will follow. Most importantly, I didn’t have to hire a pollster or political consultant to tell me what to say or what to believe. pic.twitter.com/hbXj1Vv3O9

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) August 14, 2018

The attorney recently traveled to the early presidential voting state of Iowa, where he spoke to local activists.

“I think that if the Democratic Party focuses on nominating who will make the best president, that’s going to be a critical mistake,” Avenatti told NBC News while in the state. “There’s only one question at the end of the day, and that question is: Can the potential nominee beat Donald Trump?”

NBC News also reported that Avenatti is planning to return to Iowa and visit the important primary and swing states of New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and Ohio.

Avenatti has made scores of media appearances in recent months as he represents Daniels, who has sued Trump and his former longtime attorney Michael Cohen to formally void an agreement to keep her quiet about an affair she says she had with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied the affair.