Lacking The Courage Of His Convictions

This week, Matt and Brian discuss the solidifying Democratic response to Donald Trump’s felony convictions, and scratch their heads a bit:

• Why are Democrats demurring when the facts are the ground are so advantageous to them?

• How consistent is this with the party’s past practice of shrugging off Trump-accountability moments?

• What if any role should data play in these kinds of rapid response moments, when Trump’s widespread unpopularity is so consistent?

Then, behind the paywall, we break down the forces within the party that cut against a unified, vigorous response: Does taking it easy on Trump really help swing-state and swing-district Democrats? How do Democratic congressional leaders actually conceive of their jobs? Would progressive leaders rather talk about Trump’s status as a felony convict and rapist, or about their policy agendas? Plus, what do Matt and Brian think a savvy response to the convictions look like? All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

• Brian on various tactics and strategies Democrats could deploy to keep reminders of Trump’s convictions above the fold.

• Josh Marshall with an important reminder to Dems and the media not to let the GOP’s affected aggression in the wake of the verdict mind trick them into allowing Republicans to set the terms of the discourse.

• A New York Times focus group suggests getting convicted of 34 felonies is not, in fact, good news for a presidential candidate.