Democrats warn of Trump trap
By Mike Lillis and Scott Wong - 07/31/19 06:00 AM EDT
House Democrats up in arms over President Trump’s attacks on minority lawmakers are sounding a warning to their own party heading into the 2020 elections: Don’t take the bait.
While Democrats have rushed to the defense of Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the prominent Congressional Black Caucus member Trump has attacked this week, they also sense the president is setting a political trap.
Democrats won the House in 2018 campaigning on health care, income inequality and other legislative priorities, and there is concern that Trump’s rhetoric is designed simply to distract voters from those policy debates.
“I hope we don’t take the bait,†said Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), the former head of the Black Caucus. “The president always plays the race card when he’s having a bad news cycle. It’s easier to call people names when you don’t have anything else to point to.â€
Trump himself on Tuesday said there is no strategy to his attacks on Cummings.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/house/455435-democrats-warn-of-trump-trap