Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton is adopting a more aggressive media strategy as she readies for a primary showdown in New York with rival Bernie Sanders and a possible general election battle with Republican front-runner Donald Trump.
The new approach was taking shape before Clinton’s loss to Sanders in Wisconsin — the Vermont senator’s sixth win in the last seven state races — and was highlighted in a round of calls Clinton made on Wednesday morning to cable news shows.
{mosads}In an interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Clinton pointed to the New York Daily News’s front page, a tabloid that had the blaring headline “Bernie’s Sandy Hook Shame” on Wednesday.
In the story, the daughter of the school principal killed in the Sandy Hook shootings criticizes Sanders for opposing an effort to allow mass shooting victims to sue gun manufacturers.
“That he would place gun manufacturers’ rights and immunity from liability against the parents of the children killed at Sandy Hook is just unimaginable to me,” Clinton said in the call.
The comments from Clinton likely offer a preview of what’s to come in the two weeks before the April 19 New York primary. Clinton and her aides are signaling that they intend to go on the attack against Sanders, who is raising more money for Clinton and routinely trouncing her among young voters.
They also intend to take the fight to a weakened Trump, who suffered a loss himself in Wisconsin to Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas).
The call to “Morning Joe” also signaled a more quick-footed and aggressive approach Clinton is taking to get herself on-screen.
Last week, Clinton called in to CNN anchor Anderson Cooper to respond to Trump’s remarks that women should be “punished” for getting abortions.
“If you make abortion a crime — you make it illegal — then you make women and doctors criminals,” Clinton told Cooper. “Why is it, I ask myself, Republicans want limited government, except when it comes to women’s health?”
Clinton’s phone call to Cooper was unusual and appeared to be an example of the Democratic front-runner pulling a page from Trump’s playbook.
The GOP front-runner calls in so often to programs that some shows said they would refuse to take his calls. It’s helped him dominate coverage of the 2016 race.
Media quick-hits may take Clinton out of her comfort zone, but her allies say she’s ready for the shift.
Lanny Davis, a former special counsel in the Clinton White House and longtime friend of Hillary Clinton, acknowledged that her style “has never been to call in for the sake of calling in to be in the media all the time.
“That is more Donald Trump, the reality show celebrity,” he added.
But the longtime Clinton confidant predicted Clinton would show “a greater willingness to call in to shows.”
The interviews on MSNBC and CNN aren’t the only examples of Clinton adjusting her approach.
After the terrorist attacks in Brussels, Clinton saturated the airwaves with a round of interviews, all over the phone.
It’s unclear if Clinton herself wants the more urgent approach or if it’s because she has a new team surrounding her.
The team includes Obama White House communications veterans such as Jennifer Palmieri, Kristina Schake and Christina Reynolds, in addition to Brian Fallon, who previously served as a spokesman for the Justice Department and Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.).
Clinton has had a contentious relationship with the political media for years. Just in the last year, she’s been visibly frustrated at questions over her use of a private email server while serving in the Obama administration. And her traveling press corps this cycle has often complained that she has gone months without a press conference.
While aides to the former secretary of State say she got along famously with State Department journalists focused on foreign policy, she never enjoyed appearing on the Sunday shows.
When she did make the rounds, it was for the sole purpose of pushing out a message or a policy.
Clinton isn’t going to completely change the way she handles her business because of Trump or Sanders, say supporters.
“I don’t think the answer is trying to match Trump interview by interview, nor is it trying to match his style of get into the same ring with him,” one longtime Clinton adviser said.
The adviser said Clinton is likely to stick to “smart, targeted attacks” and cautioned that Clinton “should avoid letting him dictate the flow of coverage either in style or substance.”
Davis said he’s torn about the adjustments made to cater to the always-ravenous media culture of the 2016 cycle.
“I don’t want her to change because of the pressure of being on the news all the time,” Davis said. “She is who she is. She’s very authentic. She’s got to keep her style and not let it change.”
Still, other supporters are pleased that the Democratic front-runner is adapting.
“I was equal parts dumfounded and glad to see it,” Democratic strategist Jim Manley said of the recent push. “There was clearly a recognition that she needed to fill that space and get her message out. It’s all fine and dandy for surrogates, but the most powerful comes from having the principal herself.”
Democratic strategist Brad Bannon said Trump’s constant media strategy “is the best thing that ever happened” to Clinton. “Otherwise, the media would be hounding her 24/7.
“The more exposure Trump gets, the worse it is for him and the better it is for Clinton,” Bannon said.