While the Biden campaign leapt at the chance to pin the "convicted-felon" label on Donald Trump, many congressional Democrats are offering their vulnerable colleagues some unvarnished advice — steer clear of the partisan feeding frenzy, and keep the focus on the twelve jurors.
"We don't need to talk about that," former House whip Jim Clyburn told NR in a brief hallway interview on Monday. "I think the public is speaking loud enough."
Trump's conviction last week on 34 felony counts has upended the political landscape, injecting more uncertainty into an already bitter and competitive presidential race while sparking new questions about whether Democrats should make the presumptive GOP nominee's new felon status a central part of their campaign pitch.
Post-verdict polling is sparse but suggests Trump's convicted-felon status isn't an electoral slam dunk for either party, at least not yet. As some Democrats pressure Biden to lean into the verdict on the trail, those in the don't-talk-about-it camp are convinced that last week's conviction will dissuade on-the-fence or tuned-out voters from voting for Trump, and there's little to be gained from fanning the flames.
"I feel like there's no reason for Democrats to comment at all except paying homage to our legal system, and the conviction will speak for itself," Representative Ritchie Torres (D., N.Y.) said in an interview. "It will likely galvanize his supporters but it's gonna give pause to the . . .
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