At a private donor breakfast on Wednesday at the Westin hotel in downtown Philadelphia, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) were asked by a concerned guest about how Democrats can look strong on terrorism.
Both Schatz and Blumenthal expressed worries over the potency of Trump’s argument that he was tougher on terror, according to a source who attended.
Schatz conceded that terrorism was not “traditional terra firma” for Democrats, while Blumenthal said Democrats needed to be alert to the fact that Republicans always demagogue them for being soft on terror, the source added.
Schatz told the donors they should expect that Republicans will use hundreds of millions of dollars to frame the election around terrorism and convince Americans that only a “fascist” strong man could keep them safe.
He added that polling data shows that characterizing Republicans with the specific word “reckless” is highly effective.
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