Michelson said there’s always the chance that undecided voters might be turned off by such aggressive tactics, or that Republicans will be inspired to vote to counteract it.

“If you are a Republican or you are a supporter of the Trump administration, and you see your team being attacked, then you want to come out and defend them,” she said.

But national Democratic strategist Tom Bonier said few voters are likely to be swayed by whether a Cabinet official gets to finish a meal or not. “These incidents may drive chatter inside the Beltway and with voters who are already dug in, but their impact on the broader electorate is nominal, if not nonexistent,” Bonier said.

Democratic leaders now must find a way to avoid extinguishing the passionate progressive backlash against Trump that they will need in the next election, without allowing the outrage to divide or define the entire party. That was the lesson of the GOP tea party wave, when conservative protesters filled town halls to oppose passage of the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Eventually Republican leaders lost control of the movement, partly clearing a path for Trump’s populist takeover of the party.