Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons said Clinton is employing a fairly basic strategy that he described as “trying to poke the bear.”

“They’re trying to get him to growl and so far it’s successful,” Simmons said.

Clinton wants to portray Trump as unhinged and unfit to be commander-in-chief, and they think this week’s Machado story is playing to their advantage with just five weeks to go before Election Day.

“They’re trying to push him into having more outbursts,” said Simmons.

Trump has taken the bait from opponents before, though it sometimes has also worked out to his advantage.