Editor's note: Joe Lockhart is managing director of strategic communications firm Rational 360 and served as White House press secretary for former President Bill Clinton. The opinions expressed in this op-ed are Lockhart's own. See more opinion on CNN.
CNN —
Former President Donald Trump had a pre-sentence interview with his probation officer on Monday after being convicted last month of falsifying work documents about hush money paid to cover up an alleged extramarital affair. Since the trial, Democrats have offered a consistent response to the sentence and have struggled to capitalize on opportunities like Monday's probation interview.
President Joe Biden began exploring the right response last week by calling his opponent a “convicted felon” but made no mention of porn actress Stormy Daniels' alleged affair — which Trump denies — or the hush money paid to “catch and cover” the story from becoming public during the 2016 campaign.
We need to look past these details because, as sordid as these facts are, the public is not convinced that he is unfit to serve. The point in this case is not the crime but the punishment, as evidenced by the fact that Trump is to meet (albeit virtually) with his probation officer on Monday.
In other words, this should be the centerpiece of a campaign that makes the case that Trump is unfit not because of Stormy Daniels or bribery, not because of infidelity or shady business practices, but because he is a convicted criminal. Some Americans consider this case less serious than the other pending cases against Trump, but he was convicted nevertheless. We need to act boldly here, and that this conviction is just a tiny blemish in the sordid life of a man unfit to lead our country or the free world.
With all due respect to my old boss, Bill Clinton, one of the greatest political minds of our generation, I disagree with his assertion that a successful campaign is one that focuses on the future. In this case, I believe we should use the former president's beliefs as a starting point to remind voters of all that Trump accomplished before and during his time in office.
The odds are stacked heavily against Trump in terms of how his second term would play out. Reports suggest that Trump is seeking to make fundamental changes to the government, such as gutting civil servants in favor of political activists loyal to him. Reports also suggest that some job applicants for the Republican National Committee were asked if they believed the results of the 2020 election were unfair.
But Democrats have a much better chance of winning by looking back. Many will argue that voters have already taken all of Trump's misdeeds into account in determining his current approval rating, and that repeating them would have no effect. I certainly don't think so.
In 2016, voters justified their vote for Trump by saying, “It's not as bad as everyone thinks it is.” Trump would have smart people around him, and other precautions. Today, it's the exact opposite: “Maybe it wasn't so bad after all?” Both are completely wrong. The Biden campaign must eliminate any justifications that would allow voters to “reluctantly” vote for Trump.
Voters aren't the only ones who have forgotten or downplayed the horrors that have occurred under President Trump's administration. I recently spoke with a group of veteran political pundits about the impact of Gaza on the election campaign. Some argued that Biden would have trouble with Arab Americans, especially those in Michigan. I countered, “How could I vote for a man who banned people from seven Muslim-majority countries?” I was stunned when several people insisted that Trump didn't do that. (And he did.)
Voters need daily reminders of every aspect of Trump's fraudulent conduct. Trump is a convicted felon, proving that the coming attacks are more than just partisan attacks on a “rigged system.” And it doesn't end with the New York conviction. The conviction gives new life and added weight to the federal indictment and the Georgia and Arizona election interference cases. Both will almost certainly not be tried until after the election, and while Trump has denied wrongdoing in all cases, the charges this week carry much more weight than they did before the verdict.
In fact, all of the things Trump has been accused of in the past should carry even more weight now. Accusations that he hasn't paid his taxes or cheated his business partners, for example, are much more credible now that a jury has found him a criminal. Everything that went wrong in 2016 is likely to come back to haunt him in 2024.
The case must be made that Trump is, at his core, a criminal and unfit to lead. Being convicted of a crime carries a heavy stigma in this country. That stigma could be carried politically to Trump, making the barrage of attacks against him even more powerful. Trump has engaged in racism. Trump has cheated. Trump is xenophobic. Trump is a habitual liar. Trump praises Russia and China while calling American veterans — our heroes — losers. Trump has been impeached twice. Trump was found guilty of sexual assault by a civil jury.
The list goes on. These attacks are sure to energize the Democratic base while chipping away at passive Trump supporters.
Trump can and should be criticized for what he plans to do, but he will be defeated for what he has already done. The Biden campaign correctly points out that if voters are focused on the choice between Biden and Trump, they will likely vote for Biden, even if very reluctantly.
Finally, and this is the crucial point and perhaps the strongest argument, America is a proud nation with well-earned arrogance for its leadership on the battlefield, in diplomacy, and in economic and technological advancement.
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What better way to invigorate that pride than to paint Trump as a danger to everything that makes us special. The message: America has been great, it will continue to be great, and let's not let Trump and his MAGA caps squander the power and respect they've so well earned over nearly 250 years.
We are what former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called “the indispensable nation.” The world, whether we acknowledge it or not, depends on America to build alliances and deter adversaries. Our democracy is a model around the world. We are not a country led by convicted criminals. That's what happens in countries that don't follow the rule of law. We are better than that.
That's a message all Democrats can and should get behind.
