A Georgia Democrat's snarky quips about President Donald Trump's human "binkie" Natalie Harp are providing Democrats a blueprint to potentially reclaim the House, the Senate, and even the White House, CNN political analysts argued Thursday.
Sen. Jon Ossoff's reference to Trump's high-profile aide — "he wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace" — represented a powerful political tactic: beating Trump at his own game, analysts argued.
"He's doing exactly what President Trump does," said Ashley Davis, a former Homeland Security official. "How many times has President Trump thrown huge grenades into conversations...especially when something big happens."
Axios reporter Alex Thompson agreed.
"Former aides to Donald Trump used to say that controversy is actually not a distraction, it's a way to drive a message, and [Trump] has been a master of that," said Thompson. "Ossoff is doing the exact same thing."
Ossoff's attention-grab, the panelists argued, has inspired helpful media coverage on the right and lots of cheering from supporters on the left, the panel argued.
It even earned him coverage on Fox News, spurring CNN host Erica Hill to quip he lived "rent free in the minds of many conservatives" — which she admitted she found ironic.
"The pearl-clutching among conservatives for a comment that some people saw, certainly as insinuation, others did not, is rich," Hill said, "given what we have heard from the president and many others over the last several years."
Davis admitted she felt a little queasy about Ossoff's attack, arguing he had insinuated Trump and Harp have a romantic relationship.
"You get attributed to sleeping with your boss, just because you're a young woman," she said. "There is a part of me that feels sorry for her."
Meghan Hays, a former Biden administration official, argued that Ossoff was not the source of the rumors — Harp's colleagues were.
"Her own colleagues are leaking this," Hays said. "It is very unfair to be in this situation. But clearly, her own team and her own colleagues think this is an issue, or they would not be talking about it."