Top Democrats: Resist shaming Trump aides

WASHINGTON — The recent public shaming of Trump administration officials in restaurants has triggered an internal debate among Democrats over how far they should go in confronting the president and his policies. The boisterous protests against Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Trump adviser Stephen Miller as they dined in different Mexican-themed restaurants, and the ejection of White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders by the owner of a restaurant in Virginia caused some Democrats to embrace the strategy as an effective way to rally supporters and hold officials responsible.

Rep. Maxine Waters, DCalif., a frequent critic of the administration, gave a highprofile boost to the tactic by saying those in the Trump administration should be repeatedly confronted in their everyday lives.

“If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them and you tell them they are not welcome anymore, anywhere,” Waters said at a rally in Los Angeles on Saturday.

On MSNBC the next day, she doubled down, saying that Americans are fed up. “The people are going to turn on them, they are going to protest, they are going to absolutely harass them,” she said. But on Monday, several Democrats warned that such actions could backfire by eliciting sympathy for Trump officials, rallying Republicans to the polls in midterms or leading to similar protests against liberals by Trump supporters.

President Donald Trump quickly tried to use the protests to portray his administration as a victim, falsely claiming on Twitter that Waters had advocated for his supporters to be harmed.

The Democrats’ debate is not unlike the one raging over whether to openly call for the impeachment of Trump, something party leaders like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California say is not appropriate at this time, especially as Democrats are trying to regain control of the House.

Pelosi urged caution Monday about expanding the protests against Trump Cabinet members beyond official events. Linking to an article about Waters’ comments, Pelosi took to Twitter to urge civility. “Trump’s daily lack of civility has provoked responses that are predictable but unacceptable. As we go forward, we must conduct elections in a way that achieves unity from sea to shining sea,” she said.

Other high-profile Democrats, like former Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod, called it counterproductive. “Disgusted with this admin’s policies? Organize, donate, volunteer, VOTE! Rousting Cabinet members from restaurants is an empty and, ultimately, counter-productive gesture that won’t change a thing,” he said in a tweet.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York went even further on the Senate floor Monday, saying that copying the president’s abusive tactics isn’t the answer. “No one should call for the harassment of political opponents. That’s not right. That’s not American,” he said. “The president’s tactics and behavior should never be emulated. It should be repudiated by organized, well informed and passionate advocacy.”

Sanders has seemed eager to draw attention to the incident Friday evening when she was pulled aside by a restaurant owner and asked to leave, tweeting about it over the weekend and opening her White House briefing Monday with a statement about the encounter.

Even when asked a question about why Democratic lawmakers haven’t been brought to the table to help pass an immigration bill, Sanders found a way to pivot back to Waters.

“They’d rather rant and rave about not allowing members of the Trump administration to step foot in public,” Sanders said.