The muted response sent a loud message: even in a post-Me Too era, Democratic candidates don’t believe condemning the President’s alleged sexual crimes is a winning political issue. TIME reached out to four prominent presidential campaigns for further insight into internal deliberations, and none wanted to comment on the record. Staffers for three of them described a calculus that was at once practical and defeatist: at this point in the race, they’re running against each other, not Trump. Days before the first primary debates, the candidates are busy prepping their talking points about their vision for the future, and don’t want to get sucked into the President’s vortex of accusations and denials.

Those staffers noted that in a week dominated by tensions with Iran and new details about “appalling” conditions for migrant children at the border, a rape allegation against the President barely made front-page news.

“The media has a responsibility to elevate this stuff, and folks are already noting how it’s absurd that the media is treating a rape accusation against the President of the United States as, at best, C-block news,” said one staffer to a top-tier Democratic presidential candidate. “Candidates jump in once it is elevated.” Of course, the allegation came to light on the cover of a major magazine, was covered by every major news outlet, and Carroll appeared on major cable news shows.