Should Dems Talk More about the Trump Indictments?

Critics think elected Democrats are letting Trump off the hook, are they right?

Donald Trump, the leader of the Republican Party and their likely nominee has been charged with 91 felony counts in four separate indictments. Every elected Republican of consequence has either defended, endorsed, or pledged to vote for Trump if he is the nominee. Majorities of voters think Trump committed multiple crimes. Yet, elected Democrats are quiet about Trump’s legal problems and the Republicans’ support of a corrupt, incompetent criminal.

The week Trump was indicted for the fourth time and was reprimanded by a federal judge, President Biden and the Democrats spent their time highlighting the one-year anniversary of the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. Don’t get me wrong, informing the public about this historic piece of legislation is a top-tier strategic priority for the Democrats, who are currently polling at a significant deficit on the economy. But the split screen is somewhat jarring.

As happens in Democratic Party circles, an internal debate broke out. Some pundits and Twitter strategists are wondering what the hell the Democrats are thinking. Why the hell wouldn't we seize the massive opportunity and hammer Donald Trump and the rest of the MAGA Republicans?

Biden allies and Democratic leadership aides point out that the media is already giving Trump’s legal woes wall to wall coverage. Why would we spit in the ocean? Here’s how a Biden Campaign alum explained the strategy to Politico Playbook:

Americans know what Trump did. A lesson of every election cycle from 2018 to now is, don’t get mired in the endless details of Trump scandals, talk about values and agendas.

This answer is particularly unsatisfying to a certain collection of Twitter “strategists” whose default position is that everyone in party leadership is a cowardly, incompetent norms-adoring cuck.

So, who’s right?

This debate is more complicated than to speak or not speak about Trump.

I want to break down every element of this internal debate because it highlights how the 2024 campaign may play out and how messaging works in an era of polarized politics.