Democrats weighing presidential campaigns in 2020 face a stark choice: how — and whether — to respond to President Donald Trump’s pugnacious and insensitive attacks on his political opponents. If Democrats punch back too hard at Trump, they could be accused of playing his game. If they ignore him entirely, they risk appearing unprepared to take on a president who knows few boundaries. Trump tested Elizabeth Warren on Sunday night with a tweet mocking her that made light of two massacres of Native Americans. Warren didn’t immediately engage but later called the tweet “disgusting” and suggested Trump was trying to distract from the partial government shutdown over his demand for a border wall. Other Democratic presidential contenders indicate that they, too, plan to avoid responding to Trump’s more personal taunts. Published in Daily Times, January 18th 2019.