President Donald Trump's reelection campaign hopes to use some of the most liberal stances in the Democrat debates to convince more people to vote Republican, sources close to the Trump campaign told Politico on Tuesday.
According to four people involved with the campaign, Trump's team believes highlighting moments where the Democrats tout progressive views could help convince working-class people and independents who might be wary of Trump but are more alarmed by a Democratic Party that has gone too far left.
Rapid response teams at Trump campaign's headquarters are ready for this week's debates to focus on how the candidates behave, with the campaign's digital team looking for moments to turn into online advertisements.
Some Democrats are also concerned about the debates. Former President Barack Obama's first chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, said Democrats must conduct themselves in the debates that still ensures a path to victory in the general election, writing in Gen that "Before our party promises health care coverage to undocumented immigrants — a position not even Ted Kennedy took — let's help the more than 30 million Americans who are a single illness away from financial ruin."
However, Iowa Democrat activist John Deeth told Politico, "We can't try to win an election by getting both the person who wants to hear about revolution and the person who's also a mainstream old-fashioned Republican who won't vote for Trump. We have to choose and I think a progressive message can be a winning message."
Another point is that it's not clear that Trump's strategy is working.
A recent Fox News poll of nationwide voters showed that 63% thought Trump's attacks against four minority progressive congresswomen crossed the line, including 33% of Republicans.
Only 27% said his remarks were an acceptable political attack.
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