President Trump is controlling the 2020 debate with deft, vitriolic attacks on Democratic rivals that many Republicans, long concerned about the downside of his provocations, are learning to appreciate.
Trump has aggressively interjected himself into the Democratic presidential primary with broadsides unencumbered by decorum and, in some instances, facts. In speeches, interviews, and social media posts, Trump mocks the personal appearance of would-be challengers, questions their mental fitness, uses insensitive rhetoric to highlight their faux pas, and raises unproven allegations to sow doubts about their integrity. In doing so, the president has shaped public opinion and driven news coverage while obscuring his own political vulnerabilities.
Even Republican strategists occasionally critical Trump’s preference for making seemingly sophomoric attacks instead of focusing on his strong economic record are acknowledging an upside to the president’s polarizing style.
“President Trump knows he is able to own the news cycle and drive his opponents to distraction, even when, or particularly when, what he’s saying is untrue or inappropriate,” said Michael Steel, a Republican operative. “The constant churn often seems to protect him from lasting consequences from any one statement or any one day’s news.”
[List: Trump troll train rolls right through the Democratic campaign]
On Thursday, Trump dropped his favorite rhetorical bomb on Elizabeth Warren as she exited the Democratic presidential primary following a disappointing showing on Super Tuesday. The president has referred to the Massachusetts senator as “Pocahontas” since before she launched her White House bid last year to highlight her incorrect claim of Native American heritage, for which she eventually apologized. Trump also took swipes at Bernie Sanders and Michael Bloomberg, who also ended his candidacy this week.
“Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren, who was going nowhere except into Mini Mike’s head, just dropped out of the Democrat Primary,” Trump tweeted. “THREE DAYS TOO LATE. She cost Crazy Bernie, at least, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Texas. Probably cost him the nomination! Came in third in Mass.”
From the beginning of his first campaign in 2015, Trump has displayed an instinctive knack for finding the weak spot in his opponents’ armor and distilling their vulnerabilities down to a simple slogan. In the Republican primary four years ago, he exploited doubts about Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s authenticity with the moniker “Lyin’ Ted.” In the general election, the ethical cloud that hovered over Democrat Hillary Clinton spawned “Crooked Hillary.”
This time around, Trump has lampooned Bloomberg, the billionaire former New York City mayor, as “Mini Mike” — he is 5 feet, 8 inches tall — derided Warren as “Pocahontas,” and called Sanders, a Vermont senator, “crazy.” To undercut Joe Biden, 77, the Democratic front-runner, Trump regularly questions his mental acuity and accuses him of using the vice presidency to enrich his family. Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, made millions serving on the board of a Ukrainian energy company during President Barack Obama’s administration.
Republicans were initially uncomfortable with this particular line of attack because allegations that Biden acted improperly as vice president have never been proven, though Hunter Biden’s actions were unseemly, they said. But the charges of impropriety have weakened Biden nonetheless, and many Republicans have learned to love, if not embrace, Trump’s tactics.
“A lot of people have realized, ‘OK, this guy is pretty good at this,’” said Jason Miller, a Republican operative who worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign. “In a lot of these things, President Trump ends up being right.”
Doug Heye, a Republican communications strategist often critical of Trump, likened the president’s ability to push the Democrats off-track and influence the media environment to the Jedi mind trick from the movie Star Wars.
“’These are not the droids you’re looking for’ is a key part of Trump’s messaging,” Heye said. “It allows him to distract from bad news while shaping the debate as he sees fit, with the benefit of knowing — because we all follow the Trump-directed bouncing ball — that he can do the same thing tomorrow without worrying whether or not it’s consistent.”
There are risks, however.
Trump’s crude behavior and politically charged rhetoric sometimes undermine what would otherwise be popular support for some of his signature policies. His job approval ratings are higher since being acquitted by the Senate on two articles of impeachment. But in 2018, dissatisfaction with the president led to a shellacking for the GOP in the midterm elections, with suburban voters, especially women, rejecting his polarizing style.
To prevent a repeat this November, the Trump campaign is deploying mild-mannered Vice President Mike Pence and Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, to suburban battlegrounds that remain a tougher sell for Trump.
