Trump’s strategists claim they will introduce significant new information that they hope will upend the race. “Once the campaign decided to put forward the strategy of using the victims of Bill and Hillary Clinton from the ’90s,” says deputy campaign manager David Bossie, “others came forward because they see the media coverage. Now, we have an opportunity to introduce new material into the campaign to educate voters on how they treat women.”
Bill Clinton has denied the three women’s accounts, all of which have featured in inconclusive litigation. Both Clintons are battle-scarred veterans of right-wing attacks, including those surrounding the former president’s infidelities, and have made a point of not engaging directly with Trump’s repeated attacks. “That just shows how desperate they are,” Hillary Clinton said of Trump’s scorched-earth plan at a rally in Pueblo, Colorado, on Wednesday. “We have done our best to stay out of all the meanness.” Spokespeople for the Clinton campaign and for Bill Clinton both declined comment…

On Tuesday, Bannon laid out the campaign’s argument. “She’s led a program of victim intimidation,” Bannon told Trump staffers, according to two advisers who were present. “This has nothing to do with consensual sexual affairs and infidelities. This is Bill. We’re going to turn him into Bill Cosby. He’s a violent sexual predator who physically abuses women who he assaults. And she takes the lead on the intimidation of the victims.”