Armed with Mueller report, Democrats confront challenge of Trump's messaging machine

The political impact of the report's release is uncertain, and it is unlikely to trigger Donald Trump's impeachment. Photo / AP

US President Donald Trump summarised the Special Counsel's report on the day of its release with four words in all caps — "NO COLLUSION. NO OBSTRUCTION."

The first two were not addressed by the report. The second two falsely described Robert Mueller's findings.

But the pithy declaration, set in a Game of Thrones "Game Over" meme and repeated frequently by Trump's surrogates on television, helped to establish a reading of the report's implications that Trump would embrace in the days to come. In response, Democratic leaders offered no memes or catchphrases of their own. They called instead for less redaction of the document and more congressional hearings.

It was an appropriate coda for an investigation that has always pitted at its core a nuanced examination of fact and law against the blunt force of Trump's sloganeering.

For Democrats aiming to topple Trump in the 2020 election, the contrast was a stark reminder of the challenges ahead in a country where political information travels largely through polarised channels that can be shaped by a president fluent in angry denunciations of his enemies, tribal appeals to his base and frequent misdirection.

On its face, the Mueller report revealed damning details of Trump's attempts to interfere in a federal investigation and his campaign's multiple contacts with Russian officials, some of whom sought to help him in the 2016 election. But the political impact of the report's release is uncertain, and it is unlikely to trigger his impeachment.

Deceptive, embarrassing and potentially criminal behaviour that Trump once decried as "fake news" has now been verified in great detail.

Of the 18 Democratic candidates running for president, only two called for impeachment proceedings. Most strategists planning for the general election campaign against Trump expect to focus far less on Trump's behaviour and personal qualities than Hillary Clinton did in 2016.

Jefrey Pollock, a Democratic pollster, said: "The election is going to be about the economy."

By leaving behind the daily spectacle of Trump's provocations, they see a chance to return to the 2018 playbook to focus on issues that more directly affect voters. They won that year's Midterm elections with economic and health arguments.

"Donald Trump wins in a reality show and loses in reality," said Jesse Ferguson, a Democratic strategist. "If he is able to brand things like a reality show host, he will win the debate. But that only works until people start to see the consequences."

House Democrats plan to take on the separate task of trying to distill and publicise the most alarming parts of the Mueller report in hopes of making the President's behaviour in office feel consequential for more voters.

They are preparing a rival reality show of their own through hearings.