DEMS/ELECTION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “When the Democrats running for president all agreed at their first debate — via a raised hand — that public health insurance should cover undocumented immigrants, the Trump campaign saw an opening. The campaign war room immediately clipped the video and shared it on social media. President Donald Trump tweeted about it. It was a tactic, people assumed, to rile up Trump’s steadfast but limited base ahead of 2020. Inside the Trump campaign, though, officials thought they were actually growing that base. According to four people involved with or close to the Trump campaign, the president’s reelection team believes trumpeting these moments will help win over a certain type of voter that could help carry him to a second term. It’s the voter who might be wary of Trump, but is more alarmed by a Democratic Party they feel is drifting dangerously to the left.”
–Gabby Orr, “Trump sees his base growing from Democratic sparring,” Politico, July 30, 2019 5:04 am