WASHINGTON -- The coronavirus is already coloring the 2020 campaign, with Democrats convinced that President Donald Trump's response to the outbreak leaves him and down-ballot Republicans vulnerable, while the Republicans accuse Democrats of politicizing the fight against the virus.
"The economy has been his [Trump's] whole schtick," said former Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., who once led the House GOP's campaign committee. "If the market tanks and the economy goes down, I think Trump's whole reason for being in office goes away."
Added Whit Ayres, a veteran Republican pollster: "The way you respond to crises can be make-or-break moments for elected officials."
People in both parties say a recession and rampant disease outbreak would cripple Trump's reelection and Republican efforts to capture House control and defend their Senate majority. Democrats are primed to emphasize that idea.
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"Every elected GOP official owns this moment," Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., tweeted last week after Trump delivered a prime-time national address that erroneously described several steps he's taking to try to contain the virus. "They elected him. They coddled him. They cowered before him."
Democrats' first ads on the theme have started trickling out.
Before quitting the Democratic presidential race this month, Mike Bloomberg ran two ads that implicitly challenged Trump's ability to manage the crisis by citing Bloomberg's efforts as New York City mayor right after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "Trust is essential," Bloomberg said.
The Democratic-backed group Protect Our Care began airing a spot last week in Montana asserting that the state's GOP senator, Steve Daines, "doesn't worry" about families' health concerns, including the coronavirus. It depicts a concerned mom hovering over her daughter, who lies bedridden in a hospital.
Daines, who faces a competitive reelection race this November, has favored repealing former President Barack Obama's health care law, though there's no proof that Daines is unconcerned about the coronavirus. Jesse Hunt, spokesman for the Senate GOP's campaign committee, said Democrats are running "disgusting attack ads that politicize a disease that knows no party."
Short of campaign ads, both sides have used news releases and emails to dual over the virus.
Christy Smith, a Democrat battling for an open House seat from Los Angeles, emailed supporters to accuse Republicans of "legislative malpractice" for blocking a Democratic bill addressing the problem. That bill was overwhelmingly passed late Friday night by the House and is expected to pass in the Senate this week.
And an email from the Great America PAC, a group that supports Trump, says that while Trump has been "working around the clock to keep Americans safe and healthy," he's been blamed by "the Left and Fake News media" for the outbreak.
Such emails are often used to generate lists of potential voters, volunteers and donors.
Republicans say there is still time for Trump to tame the coronavirus and the economy and consign them to background noise before Election Day.
"If we do this right, in the mid-summer the economy and stocks will come roaring back," said Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio.
A quick turnabout will be crucial for Trump, whose presidency has featured his House impeachment and his acquittal just five weeks ago by the Senate.
Above all issues, a weak economy can spell an incumbent president's downfall.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 1,900 points Friday but was still in bear market territory, down more than 20% from its record high last month.
Trump on Friday declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency, saying that would provide $50 billion to state and local governments for the outbreak. Trump is also poised to sign the coronavirus relief package if it's approved by the Senate.
But the president also said Friday that "I don't take responsibility at all" for the plodding rollout of testing in the U.S.
That left the wounded economy and the virus as targets for Democrats, who are tying them to criticism of Trump.
"You wouldn't have had a massive fluctuation in the stock market this week if he wasn't really disturbing the confidence of investors," said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, a former Democratic Party chairwoman.
Democratic presidential candidates have struck similar themes.
Former Vice President Joe Biden said that "a pervasive lack of trust in this president" had hindered the response to the virus, compounded by Trump's leaving the country "woefully unprepared."
Meanwhile, Republicans are watching to see if Democrats overstep in their criticism of Trump.
The risk for Democrats is if they "look like they are cheering for a worsening of a very serious situation," said Ayres, the GOP pollster.
A Section on 03/15/2020