In a political party devoid of young leaders, some are speculating that Mitch Landrieu, the Mayor of New Orleans, must be a prime presidential candidate for 2020. He was mentioned along with about a dozen other presidential prospects in a New York Times article. This national publicity for Landrieu follows his interview on Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC program discussing his crusade to remove four Confederate monuments in New Orleans.

Not surprisingly, by championing the removal of Confederate monuments, Landrieu is scoring political points with the far-left leadership of the Democrat Party. In fact, Landrieu’s political ambition is the whole reason the monuments are being removed.

Prior to the Mayor’s embrace of this cause, there was never any groundswell of support in New Orleans for the monuments to be removed. Before Mitch Landrieu was Mayor of New Orleans, four African Americans served in the city’s top position and none of them tried to remove the monuments.

When Landrieu was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives and Lt. Governor, he never made the removal of Confederate monuments an issue. As Lt. Governor, Landrieu controlled state museums and was tasked with promoting the culture and heritage of Louisiana as well as fostering tourism. It would have been the perfect time for a political leader so concerned about Confederate monuments to make it a statewide issue. Instead, he said nothing about Confederate monuments.

During his four campaigns for Mayor of New Orleans in 1994, 2006, 2010 and 2014, Landrieu made no mention of his seemingly burning desire to remove the monuments. It was only after a tragic shooting in South Carolina that Landrieu saw an opportunity to make the removal of Confederate monuments his signature issue.

He knew that this stand against Confederate monuments would give him national publicity. Landrieu also knew that in Louisiana his prospects for statewide office were nil. Thus, he needed another goal, to set his sights on national political opportunities.

In November 2016, a clear opportunity for a cabinet position was lost when Hillary Clinton failed to win the presidency. Now that Donald Trump is President, Landrieu is auditioning for the role of chief antagonist. In recent weeks, the Mayor has ramped up his rhetoric against the Justice Department’s crackdown on sanctuary cities. The Mayor is an ardent supporter of New Orleans retaining its sanctuary city status; although he claims the city is not breaking any laws.

All his activities are clearly exposing the Mayor’s new goal, running for President in 2020. For Landrieu, fighting Donald Trump and fighting racist monuments is a perfect platform for a lifelong politician to run for national office. He has started a political action committee, Nola PAC, and is constantly pitching his supporters for funding to fight against Trump and racist monuments.

Although the Mayor is long on ambition, he is short on actual accomplishments. Other than political office, Landrieu has zero meaningful private sector experience. His record as Lt. Governor is undistinguished and as Mayor it has been a total failure.

If Democrats care to investigate his record, they will notice his inability to fight violent crime, reform the New Orleans Police Department, fix failing infrastructure or bring good paying jobs to the city. In fact, the population of New Orleans is now declining for the first time since Hurricane Katrina, as people are being forced out of the city by the high crime rate and the Mayor’s unquenchable desire to raise taxes.

The race for the Democrat Party presidential nomination in 2020 will be wide open; however, if Mayor Landrieu is given thoughtful consideration it will show how desperate the situation has become for a once proud political organization.

Instead of providing a safe environment, jobs and opportunity for his citizens, the Mayor has created a major controversy which is leading to racial division and violence. He has ignored local standing problems such as the violent crime rate to pursue the removal of Confederate monuments and his own political agenda.

If Democrats want a problem solver, they need to look elsewhere. However, if they want a self-serving politician who cares little about the real plight of his constituents, but is brimming with unending ambition, then Mitch Landrieu would be a perfect choice as their presidential nominee.