Trump campaign ducking pushing Biden #MeToo allegations over fears it will blow up in the president's face: report

President Donald Trump's history with women has made it difficult for his 2020 reelection campaign to capitalize on Tara Reade's allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden, according to a new analysis published in The Washington Post.

"Purely politically speaking, this couldn’t have come at a better time for President Trump: He’s behind in the polls to former vice president Joe Biden, and Biden is having to deny a sexual assault allegation. Instead of litigating his alleged action, the Trump campaign is emphasizing the hypocrisy they see in Biden’s words about whether to believe women," The Post's Amber Phillips reported.

Trump himself has long been dogged by #MeToo scandals, with over 20 women having accused him of rape, sexual assault and sexual misconduct.

"Recall in 2016, Trump brought some of Bill Clinton’s accusers to a presidential debate against Hillary Clinton after an 'Access Hollywood' tape showed Trump bragging about grabbing a woman’s genitals. He’s not afraid to go there. By contrast, on Friday after Biden addressed the allegation publicly by saying it never happened, the Trump campaign put out a statement focusing more on what they called a double standard of Biden’s words than on the details of accuser Tara Reade’s claims," she explained.

During the confirmation fight over Brett Kavanaugh, Biden had said women should be believed.

"High-profile members of Trump’s team seem more willing to get out in front on this, but their response is also not as Biden-focused as it could be," the story explained. "Donald Trump Jr. has shared Reade’s allegation on social media and given interviews about how he thinks it’s troublesome. But a central focus of his and Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale’s criticism is journalists for not covering the allegation as quickly and forcefully as Christine Blasey Ford’s when she accused Kavanaugh."

"Rather than driving a conversation around about the specifics of the allegation — the corroborators, for example — Trump’s defenders appear to be lumping 'Democrats,' 'the media' and 'Biden' together, and their main charge is hypocrisy rather than hyping up Reade’s accusation of sexual assault," Phillips explained.

Read the full analysis.