Is there no kind soul out there who would be willing to rush onto the media field, tackle Michael Avenatti, take away the microphone and hustle him off to get some professional help? Perhaps not. Until that happens we will apparently continue to be treated to the ongoing circus where this guy seems to actually believe that he has a shot at the Democratic nomination for President. And what about that bit of unpleasantness where he was arrested on domestic violence charges? Nothing to worry about in Avenatti’s world. In fact, it’s probably improved his chances of winning. (Daily Caller)

Attorney Michael Avenatti believes he is well positioned for a 2020 presidential bid, despite a dramatic shift in personal and professional fortunes.

In the last six weeks, Avenatti has been arrested on a domestic violence charge, broken with his star client Stephanie Clifford in a dispute over fundraising and strategy, and been referred to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation in connection with his representation of Julie Swetnick.

“I think the field is shaping up to be even more advantageous for someone like me, not less,” Avenatti told Politico Sunday. “I think my chances have only gone up, not gone down.”

Here’s the major problem with this line of “logic” Avenatti is serving up. He doesn’t go on to provide any further explanation as to why being arrested for allegedly dragging his former girlfriend across the floor by her arm has improved his 2020 prospects. Mind you, I’m not saying there actually is a good (or even sane) supporting argument. I just wanted to hear him try to clarify it.

Perhaps he believes that since Donald Trump had been accused of groping some women and still managed to be elected that it’s some sort of qualifier for the office. But Trump wasn’t elected because of such rumors. It happened in spite of them. He also has that whole “creepy porn lawyer” persona issue to deal with if he wants to make it in the political world. Now that his famous former client has come out and accused him of starting lawsuits and setting up fundraisers in her name without asking her (both of which are big no-nos in legal circles), he’s quickly becoming more of a punchline than a prospect.

I realize he’s been spending a lot of time in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina doing some glad-handing, but I’ve yet to see a single poll where his name even shows up above the white noise level. Cable news shows were having him on as a guest for quite a while, mostly because he was willing to bash Trump, but even that gig seems to be drying up.

So there’s the question for the audience at large: what is Michael Avenatti’s game at this point? Is he trying to parlay his fifteen minutes on the stage into some other opportunities down the line or does he actually believe he could mount a presidential campaign? The former would be understandable because he does seem like the wheeler-dealer type, but the latter would just be disturbing.