Will President Trump’s aggressive campaign schedule this fall be “a gift to Democrats just before the election,” as one of his former campaign advisers put it?
Commenting on Trump’s recent pledge to hit the campaign trail hard ahead of the midterm elections, the former Trump campaign adviser told my colleague Gabby Morrongiello, “The problem is, once you align yourself with the president on one issue there’s no escaping the uglier things he sometimes says.”
Morrongiello’s report quotes a former White House official pointing to Trump’s comments mocking Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and the #MeToo movement at a recent rally on behalf of Matt Rosendale in Montana. “He’s enormously popular with Republicans, so they don’t care when he says those sorts of things,” the person said, noting that popularity doesn’t extend “to independent voters, Democrats, or the media.”
“It almost always becomes a negative headline that can do damage in a competitive district,” they added.
To be clear, it would be a mistake for Republicans to buy into Trump’s “RED WAVE!” narrative, but there’s another side to this argument. Democrats have shown little ability to resist taking Trump’s bait. His most controversial comments are always met with hyperbole and hysteria. Especially on culture war questions (the national anthem, for instance), Democrats have struggled to come up with successful responses. In some cases, they’ve given Republicans fuel to tie them to coastal progressives and the #Resistance, hurting their own campaigns.
In states like Missouri and West Virginia, visits from Trump can only help candidates vying to unseat vulnerable Democratic senators. But his presence isn’t necessarily a disaster in swing districts either; Democrats still have to successfully market themselves as reasonable alternatives. Hillary Clinton’s failure to do that is why she’s not in the White House. And by broaching cultural issues, Trump sometimes puts Democrats in tough positions.
Yes, Republicans should be careful not to overestimate Trump. He absolutely has a habit of making statements that mobilize his enemies and turn off centrists. But Democrats should be careful not to overestimate their own ability to sensibly respond to him.
