Advisers urge Trump to defer 2020 rallies

Can a president who revels being 'off script' run a Rose Garden reelection campaign?

By GABBY ORR 03/08/2019 05:02 AM EST

As he watches the 2020 Democratic candidates fire up campaign crowds, President Donald Trump is itching to upstage them with rallies of his own. Not so fast, say Trump’s political advisers, who are arguing that Trump’s best asset is the White House — and that he should make the most of it.

The rambunctious rallies can come later, they say. For now, Trump’s Republican allies and campaign officials believe an early reelection strategy built around his role as chief executive in dignified settings like the Oval Office and the Rose Garden will carry more weight with voters than his signature freewheeling arena speeches.

It’s unclear whether Trump, the politically combative president in recent history, can truly stay above the campaign fray: just last week he mocked his Democratic rivals at the Conservative Political Action Conference in a speech he proudly declared “off script.” But Trump’s advisers are still hoping he will capitalize on his incumbency by largely sticking to official events and private, no-cameras fundraisers for the next several months, according to three sources familiar with his campaign, one of whom said the president is making a “conscious effort” to rise above the Democratic scrum.

That means fewer tweets targeting his 2020 opponents; leaving the White House only for events that promote specific presidential issues; and an intense focus on courting high-dollar donors behind closed doors.

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https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/08/trump-2020-rallies-1211799