ELECTION/ELIZABETH WARREN/GOP/ME TOO/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump understands what got him elected — a willingness to throw caution and decorum to the wind and to assail what his supporters see as rampant political correctness. On Thursday [7-5-18] night, when he mocked the #MeToo movement as his tour targeting red-state Democratic senators hit Montana, he showed that he thinks the same approach will stave off a GOP midterm election meltdown that could severely constrain his presidency. The President made his high-risk gamble at a raucous rally as he renewed his attack on Democratic senator and possible 2020 White House candidate Elizabeth Warren and her claim to possess Native American heritage. He said that if the pair ever clashed in a presidential debate he would give her a DNA test to identify her ancestry…It set up the equation that prevailed for much of 2016 — with Trump adopting a position many people may see as extreme or offensive that causes mainstream media outlets to cry foul. In the process, Trump again became the scourge of liberal, inclusive values and the potential champion of millions of Americans who see such coverage as exactly the kind of fretting political correctness by coastal elites that drew them to the ultimate outsider candidate in the first place. But while Trump’s willingness to blast taboos helped him in 2016, there is no guarantee it will work in the midterms. While it may be popular with his base in the heartland, he’s already doing poorly among female voters who could be vital to tight races in suburban districts.”
–Stephen Collinson, “Trump’s #MeToo swipe updates his 2016 playbook,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, July 6, 2018 6:43 am