Team Trump Is Upset That They Can't Just Run Against Hillary Again

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The playbook that worked in 2016 isn’t so far in 2020. And some in Trump land are feeling nostalgic for their old foe.

Hanna Trudo
Asawin Suebsaeng

Updated May. 21, 2020 6:03AM ET



In 2016, Donald Trump and his campaign staff found themselves up against a Democratic nominee who was running under a cloud of corruption allegations, family liabilities, a longtime “establishment” image, health and wellness questions, personal baggage related to sexual misconduct claims, and politicized inquiries on Capitol Hill.

In 2020, they want to do it all over again. But this time, Team Trump faces a presumptive Democratic nominee who appears, at least thus far, significantly less vulnerable to those attacks that worked so well on Hillary Clinton. In poll after poll—both public and internal campaign variety—former Vice President Joe Biden has maintained leads over President Trump, including in several key battleground states.

The advantage has persisted as Biden’s prospects seemed doomed, as Trump’s standing momentarily brightened, as the attacks have grown more vicious, and as both men were taken off the trail because of the coronavirus pandemic. The steadiness has gotten to the point that Biden’s own confidants are now increasingly confident that Trump simply won’t be able to re-use the playbook that got him the White House four years ago.

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“Donald Trump's attack on Hillary in 2016 ranged from calling her nasty, crooked, and unlikable,” said Patti Solis Doyle, Clinton's 2008 campaign manager and longtime confidant. “His tactics ranged from parading women who had accused her husband of various sexual assaults; to leading chants of ‘Lock Her Up’; to stalking her at a debate. None of these tactics will work on Biden because.... wait for it....HE’S A MAN! Trump is going to have to dig deeper in his sleazy bag of tricks to attack his opponent this time around.”

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/team-trump-is-upset-that-they-cant-just-run-against-hillary-clinton-again

[Squinch]

1. Many people like seeing powerful women denigrated. When that is done to

a powerful man, it is seen as jealousy or childishly nasty.

Which of course it always was, but...

[JHB]

2. His 2016 run surfed on a quarter century of foam about HRC

She's been under attack, both as an avenue to attack Bill and for her own self, since 1991. If Bill hadn't won the nomination, and a different Democrat had beaten Bush, she would have been on the short list of Attorney General picks.

And since Bill won, and it was anticipated she'd seek her own political career after his term, the attacks have been non-stop. They became part of the very atmosphere Republicans breathed (and stunk up this side of the divide too). People's sense of smell became so dulled that many didn't notice that the cloud over her head was mostly a great fogbank of steam rising from the mountain of turdballs that were thrown at her but never found a place where they could stick.

Nothing at all like that, with that weight of negative emotion, for Biden.

[Chainfire]

3. It appears to me

That he is trying to run against Obama.

[PragmaticLiberal]

6. I certainly hope so.

[Celerity]

4. MAGAt pie-hole

[catbyte]

8. My eyes!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Aristus]

9. Hey! Didn't I say 'stop posting that disgusting anus-mouth'???

[NoMoreRepugs]

5. Dig they will - the bar has been lowered so far by the

tRUMP team it’s going to take an extensive archaeological dig to find it.

[Renew Deal]

7. It didn't work great considering they lost by millions of votes last time.

Someone needs to start pointing out that Trump is a failed president.