They were constantly off balance and on defense — and being forced to respond to Trump reinforced an image among GOP voters that the real estate mogul was the only candidate offering solutions to their problems.

Clinton could face the same fate in the general election, say political strategists, Democrats among them, if she doesn’t loosen up and become more accessible to the press, something she finds very difficult to do because of deep-seeded mistrust.

“Recognizing that you can’t compete with him, you have to step up your game and get over your antipathy to the press and find ways to become more accessible,” said Jim Manley, a Democratic operative in Washington who backs Clinton. “They have a problem in part because he is using media to great affect right now, day in, day out, dominating the narrative.”

Clinton joined CNN Thursday afternoon for a live interview from Park Ridge, Ill., where she was raised. The former first lady, New York senator and secretary of state under President Obama field myriad questions.

Topics included Clinton’s tough primary battle with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and how the Democratic primary unifies when it’s over; the threat of terrorism and the disappearance of a passenger airliner that had been on its way from Paris to Egypt; and of course, Trump, particularly his aggressive charges that she enabled her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and his past behavior with women that some of them have described as predatory.

Clinton used questions about Trump from CNN’s Chris Cuomo as a vehicle to make her own case for the White House. In the process, she zinged Trump, calling him “unqualified” for the presidency, while refusing to respond to the aggressive, personal charges he has said he will continue to level against her.

The Democrat didn’t sound too interested in altering a communications strategy that critics call traditional and ill equipped for the modern era.

“People can judge his campaign for what it is. I’m going to run my campaign. I’m not so much running against as I am running for the kind of future I think America deserves to have,” Clinton said.

That’s a big mistake, say Republicans who closely monitored Trump’s dismantling of 16 Republican candidates, at least a dozen of whom were viable, high profile contenders.

“One of the lessons from the primary was that the overwhelming majority of the time, Donald Trump was shaping the contours of the debate and doing it on his terms,” said communications strategist Kevin Madden, who advised GOP nominee Mitt Romney in 2012.

Trump has enjoyed a bump in the polls since becoming the presumptive nominee. Meanwhile, Clinton’s numbers have slid, and her deficiencies as a campaigner have been magnified. She’s less popular than Sanders, about as unpopular as Trump and it’s abundantly clear she doesn’t have the same appeal with voters as did her husband, President Bill Clinton, or Obama.

But Democratic insiders remain confident about November, and many profess being unconcerned about Trump’s ability to command media attention.

That’s because the pool of voters in a general election is more diverse, politically and ethnically, than it is in a GOP primary. Trump’s approval ratings with influential voting blocs, like Hispanics and women, remain dangerously low, and his policies won’t necessarily go over as well.

And the lesson Democrats drew from the Republican race is, attack Trump early and often, to define him before he can define himself and his competition. Although Trump’s media strategy was a crucial component of his nomination victory, he did benefit from his GOP opponents declining to attack him until it was too late, because they didn’t take him seriously.

“I think this is much ado about nothing,” said a Democratic communications strategist who is actively working to elect Clinton and defended her approach to the media. “Not all press is good press; Trump’s probably had the worst week of the campaign for him this week and he’s dominated the news.”

Other Democrats said that the worst move Clinton could make was to try and be someone she’s not.

Even stipulating that Trump’s media saturation might be an advantage for his campaign, the truth is that Clinton doesn’t trust the press, a result of her experience after 30 years in the public eye. Many Democrats say her distrust of the media is justified.

These Democrats also argue that it’s impossible to match Trump because few politicians are willing to “lie” and “contradict” themselves the way he is. In any event, they don’t expect Trump to get away with this approach in a race against Clinton the way he did in the GOP primary.

“You have to be who you are,” said Rodell Mollineau, a Democratic communications consultant. “Donald Trump needs the press like he needs oxygen. Hillary Clinton has never been that person.”