Less than a week before Mr. Trump is sworn in, there is a widening disconnect among Democrats over how to challenge a leader whose talent for stirring controversy can blur, rather than sharpen, the lines of attack against him. Democrats, here and in Washington, say it is folly to engage him on his preferred terrain of insults and bombast. Or, especially, when he takes aim at an esteemed figure like Mr. Lewis. But, despite all predictions in the Republican primary contests and then in the general election, Mr. Trump’s succession of perceived missteps never proved fatal. In interviews here in Phoenix, Democrats voiced a determination to resist the spectacle — to not play by Mr. Trump’s rules.

Source: New York Times January 15, 2017 01:32 UTC