Behind the scenes, the candidates, campaign aides and consultants are already plotting how to publicly address the scandal that has consumed President Donald Trump. They know the campaign that gets it right could break free from the cluttered 2020 pack. In the early primary and caucus states, the Democratic hopefuls are already encountering “simmering, seething outrage” about Trump’s possible ties to Russia, said one strategist for a 2020 campaign. The candidate who taps into that anger could ride the wave to the nomination.
Speaking up could have disastrous ramifications, though. Much like Democratic candidates in the 2018 midterm elections, the party’s presidential hopefuls are wary of appearing consumed by — and politicizing — a scandal that grips regular Rachel Maddow viewers but seems confusing and distant from the kitchen tables of many Americans.
“Smart campaigns will war game this very quietly,” said Ben LaBolt, a former spokesman from the Obama White House and 2012 reelection campaign. “They’ll have smart plans on the shelf. But it’s not something they’ll talk about. It’s not something that they’ll broadcast.”
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