According to a report at the Daily Beast, Donald Trump is being advised to not take any shots -- or give a nickname -- to Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) because White House aides are fearful of giving her more attention than she is already receiving.
With the California Democrat launching her 2020 presidential campaign over the weekend to great fanfare -- to say nothing about attacks on the president -- Trump has been uncharacteristically quiet and not returned fire.
According to the Beast, it is a calculated decision but it may not last for long.
"Five Trump associates and aides independently told The Daily Beast that they don’t recall a time when the president complained about or ridiculed Harris during private conversations over the past couple years," the report states.
With one White House insider calling Harris a “non-entity," the Beast reports "others close to the president say that the moment Trump senses that Harris is the frontrunner in the Democratic race, or that she is a clear and present threat to him, he will start going after her regularly."
“He won’t keep quiet... for much longer,” the source stated.
A former White House communications official went so far as to attempt to label Harris as "unremarkable."
"There’s no reason to elevate a political opponent who’s had an unremarkable start thus far in Washington when elevating established, recycled opponents including former Vice President Biden, Sen. Warren, and Sen. Sanders is a better play,” explained Jason Miller, who headed up communications strategy during the Trump 2016 transition. “One of the major keys to President Trump winning re-election in 2020 is maintaining the ‘change’ label and forcing the eventual Democratic opponent to own the ‘status quo’ description.”
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