Trump ridicules John Kerry, says he would ‘be so lucky’ with potential presidential challenge in 2020

The former US secretary of state says talking about 2020 right now is a 'total distraction'

Former US Secretary of State John Kerry (Getty)

Donald Trump has mocked the idea of John Kerry challenging him for the White House in 2020.

The US president tweeted that he’d “only be so lucky” if the former US secretary of state decided to run against him for president.

“I see that John Kerry, the father of the now terminated Iran deal, is thinking of running for President,” Mr Trump wrote on Twitter. “I should only be so lucky - although the field that is currently assembling looks really good - FOR ME!”

When asked if he was going to run for president in 2020 in an interview with CBS, Mr Kerry said he was “really not thinking about it”.

“Talking about 2020 right now is a total distraction and waste of time,” he said “What we need to do is focus on 2018.”

Mr Kerry, a former US senator from Massachusetts, lost his presidential bid to then-incumbent President George W Bush in 2004.

Although the former Democrat presidential nominee did not explicitly say, yes or no, on whether he plans to run for president in his interview with CBS, he noted his plans to hit the campaign trail ahead of the US midterm elections.

“I think that's the most important work we can do right now is trying to elect people on a national basis and … and restore the leadership that the country needs,” he said.