Railing against President Trump isn’t enough.
That is the lesson that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., imparted earlier this year.
“It’s not about President Trump,” she explained during an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash. “I’ve said to [candidates], ‘Don’t even mention his name. It’s not about him. It’s about you, and what you have to offer versus the person on the other side.’”
That is the lesson that helped Democrats win 41 House seats, the majority, in the 2018 midterm elections and another term as House speaker for Pelosi.
Now Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has taken it to heart.
Every person in America should be able to work hard, play by the same set of rules, & take care of themselves & the people they love. That’s what I’m fighting for, & that’s why I’m launching an exploratory committee for president. I need you with me: https://t.co/BNl2I1m8OX pic.twitter.com/uXXtp94EvY
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) December 31, 2018
Re-watch that video if you can stomach another serving of political boilerplate. What is remarkable and what was noted by close observers, such as Matthew Continetti of the Washington Free Beacon, is that Warren never says Trump’s name once.
This isn’t a speak-no-evil situation. Trump looms large in the consciousness of every presidential hopeful. But Warren is smart to differentiate herself from the rest of the resistance pack, which has screeched nonstop about a coming apocalypse at least since Inauguration Day. That criticism has grown old. Rather than regurgitate it, Warren decided to lay out her own policy vision instead.
That her vision isn’t necessarily remarkable isn’t exactly notable. Warren doesn’t have the charm of Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., or the woke credentials of Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. But Warren has managed to avoid the Trump-infatuation pitfall early. Other candidates should take note.
