Republicans are deploying a familiar strategy ahead of the midterms: dispatching Ivanka Trump to the suburbs, where many similarly polite racists live.
Donald Trump might be too bombastic for some Republican voters, but Ivanka, with her millennial pink dresses and her vacant stares, is just the right fit. The Washington Post reports on the strategy:
Ivanka Trump is likely to be dispatched to suburban districts to talk about the economy and the workforce, while the president is expected to be on the road at least three or four days a week in swing states such as Ohio and in states where he was dominant in 2016, such as West Virginia, the two people said.
Ivanka Trump visited Illinois on Wednesday, speaking at a community college alongside Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.). Although the visit was an official White House endeavor, Davis is a self-described “Main Street Republican” facing an uphill reelection race. His Democratic opponent, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, raised more money than he did in the most recent quarter.
This is an echo of 2016 when white suburban voters, and white women in particular, were reportedly turned off by audio of Trump bragging about sexual assault. (All the other shit was fine, though.) This made the Republican National Committee and the campaign very nervous, but there was no reason to be because white women voted for him anyway.
I love a happy ending.