Democrats must tread carefully

When Republicans threatened to call Hunter Biden, the embattled son of former

Vice President Joe Biden and walking political cautionary tale, as a witness for the impeachment trial of President Trump, at least some Democrats seemed open to the idea.

So long as it meant Democrats got to hear from their dream witnesses — namely, former national security adviser John Bolton — it might just be worth it, they mused.

Sen. Sherrod Brown said just days ago that it would be “fine,” if the younger Biden, who sat on the board of a Ukrainian energy company for a reason likely rhyming with schmepotism, were called to testify because, “We take the position that we want to hear from the witnesses.”

Well, he might just get his wish. According to a Washington Post report, Democrats are now seriously considering the trade-off: a Biden, either Hunter or even Joe, for a Bolton.

The reason, like so much to do with the impeachment extravaganza, has little to do with hearing actual new evidence and more to do with politics. According to the report, these Democrats believe having either Biden testify “could backfire on Trump and the GOP, giving Biden and the party a platform to strike back and paint Republicans and the White House as obsessed with trying to damage one of Trump’s 2020 presidential rivals.”

Democrats clinging should disabuse themselves of the notion. Bringing either Biden into the Senate chamber only makes political sense for Trump.

For starters, and with all due respect to Democrats, despite good intentions and mustering their entire arsenal of political tricks, this party hasn’t been able to do much of anything that has backfired on Trump. From the Mueller investigation to this very impeachment effort, Trump has not only found nefarious ways to survive the attempted takedowns, but he has made the gamble that they would hurt Democrats in the end. That remains to be seen, but there is one obvious and unsubtle piece of evidence that Trump is winning: He is still president.

Further, this promises to be a very, very bad exercise for the Bidens, and one in which I can’t imagine either are eager to participate.

For the younger, the warning signs are all around.

There was his first interview, in which he managed to admit his role at Burisma was both “a mistake” and likely the result of his last name.

There are also his latest personal scandals, which White House counsel and Republicans will undoubtedly exploit to embarrass the elder Biden.

There’s also public polling that is very unsympathetic to Hunter. A majority of Americans say his role in Burisma was bad judgment, with half believing he should return the money he earned while there and 27% believing what he did was actually illegal. It wasn’t, but politics is perception.

For all these reasons, putting Joe Biden on the stand seems the safer bet. But that’s just as perilous.

Sen. Chris Coons, a Biden supporter, almost seemed to goad Republicans into calling him, saying, “If you want to give Joe Biden an opportunity to sit in the well of the Senate and answer the question, ‘Do you think the president acted appropriately?’ go right ahead. I can’t imagine a person more comfortable in the well of the Senate than a man who spent 36 years here as a United States senator.”

Not so fast. For one, Biden will be sitting across from four of his current Democratic opponents, all of whom have their own reasons to injure the frontrunner, however stealthily. Some have already publicly criticized Hunter’s appointment to the board, with Amy Klobuchar the most forceful, saying, “I can promise you right now my own daughter, who’s only 24, does not sit on the board of a foreign company, but that is not the issue. The issue here is what the president is doing.”

Biden is wisely trying to keep his distance from impeachment, for all of the above reasons, but also because the Senate trial gives him a real advantage on the campaign trail. With some of his opponents sequestered for the next week or so, he gets Iowa, New Hampshire and everywhere else virtually to himself (and Mayor Pete). Why would he agree to give that up?

The bigger question is what will Democrats gain?

Public sentiment about impeachment is largely cemented.

John Bolton is likely to do what every other witness has done and corroborate what we already know Trump did, which was to unlawfully use his office for his own personal gain. Trump has all but admitted to what he is accused of.

The truth is, no matter how skillfully the Democrats try to protect either Biden in a Senate trial, there’s only so much they can do to keep both from being damaged in the process. Bolton likely isn’t going to be worth the trade. Democrats should keep the Bidens far away from this car wreck and accept, at long last, that the only one who can hang Trump is himself.

S.E. Cupp is the host of “S.E. Cupp Unfiltered” on CNN.

For starters, and with all due respect to Democrats, despite good intentions and mustering their entire arsenal of political tricks, this party hasn’t been able to do much of anything that has backfired on Trump.