Rep. Adam Schiff, fresh of a censure by House Republicans that had Democrats chanting “shame, shame, shame” in the House chamber, took a move out of Donald Trump‘s own playbook as he shared a video clip of Trump mocking him.
The familiar Trump move Schiff employs is to take a moment or event that seems to reflect negatively on its target, and then share it with commentary that spins it and gives it a new context, as Schiff does below. “Owning the narrative”: is a common phrase used to describe the practice.
[NOTE: Consider that Trump announced his imminent indictments before prosecutors announced them, giving him a chance to ridicule the charges in a “prebuttal” and giving his followers the impression he had insider information.]
Trump just called me out at his rally. Again.
— Adam Schiff (@AdamSchiff) July 2, 2023
No doubt pleased by the censure from his MAGA enablers in Congress. He goes after anyone he thinks is effective or views as a threat.
Here’s a newsflash: I’m never going to stop. pic.twitter.com/owzbQtviBP
Trump mocked Schiff at a South Carolina rally calling him “Little Adam Schiff” and stirring up his rally crowd asking, “How ’bout that beauty?”
(The California Democrat — and 2024 Senate candidate — has been a Trump target long before his censure; as the former House Intelligence Committee Chair, Schiff became Trump’s chief antagonist while investigating the alleged Trump-Russia collusion.)
Trump’s long list of nicknames given to political enemies has included the “Little” appellation before, but he has mainly used it against GOP figures. “Little Mike Bloomberg” — the billionaire former Mayor of New York City — and “Little Marco” Rubio — the Florida Senator — are two examples.
Former GOP Nebraska Senator “Little Ben” Sasse is another. Left leaning media figures also qualify — Trump has mocked “Little George” Stephanopoulos and former CNN and NBC honcho “Little Jeff” Zucker, even if Zucker long ago greenlighted Trump’s fame-building reality show The Apprentice.
By sharing the video with his own followers, Schiff opts to try to own the mockery and wear it as a badge of honor, calculating that being high on Trump’s enemies list — while earning boos in South Carolina — is a good place to be politically with the broader electorate.
Schiff concludes that because Trump belittles those who are a threat to him, he has earned Trump’s mockery by persistently holding the former President to account — and as a result, he’s living in Trump’s head, the proof being Trump’s talking about him.
Schiff writes: “Trump just called me out at his rally. Again. No doubt pleased by the censure from his MAGA enablers in Congress. He goes after anyone he thinks is effective or views as a threat. Here’s a newsflash: I’m never going to stop.”
