Even if a Trump trial only lasts a few weeks, it will still effectively freeze campaigning for Warren, Harris, Booker, Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar and Michael Bennet.

“I can’t think of more devastating news if you’re running one of these campaigns for president than the news that your candidate is going to be bound to a desk in Washington, day after day, in the run-up to the Iowa caucuses,” said David Axelrod, who helped mastermind Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, which began with an upset Iowa victory.

A prolonged absence from the campaign trail is especially harmful in Iowa, a state that cherishes up-close-and-personal campaigning. “You know, it’s a tactile kind of event, where people expect to be seen and touched and courted,” said Axelrod.

Earlier this year, Harris caught grief from Iowans for canceling a campaign event to remain in Washington, D.C., for a Senate vote. The vote was on disaster relief. For Iowa.