When Trump attacks, Democrats shut their mouths and pray
Vulnerable senators up for reelection have adopted a strategy of silence in response to the presidents putdowns.
By BURGESS EVERETT and ELANA SCHOR 05/18/2018 05:00 AM EDT
Jon Tester was on his farm in rural Montana when his phone rang with the news: It was his chief of staff, informing him that the president of the United States had just called for his resignation on Twitter.
The Montana Democrat briefly considered President Donald Trumps latest attack on him, then fired up his tractor and went on his way. Tester wasnt going to get into it with Trump over the senators role in bringing down the presidents Veterans Affairs nominee, Ronny Jackson.
Its spring planting on the farm. Would I have liked to have been out pushing back on some of this? Sure. But I couldnt, I was farming, Tester said in an interview. Truthfully.
After laying into Tester in late April, Trump is reveling in a new round of attacks on the 10 senators up for reelection in states that the president won in 2016. Always more of an attack dog toward his enemies than a defender of his allies, Trump is laying into Sleepin Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, calling Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania a disaster and blaming Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio for catch and release immigration policies.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/18/trump-democrats-senators-reelection-attacks-596553