Hillary Clinton’s campaign is preparing for the possibility that Donald J. Trump, reeling from harsh criticisms of his performance at the first presidential debate, will unleash a personal assault related to her husband’s infidelities at their next face-off in a week.
It is an attack that her campaign aides have been aware could come since 2015, when Mr. Trump’s aides raised the impeachment battle that defined Bill Clinton’s second term as president to criticize Mrs. Clinton’s character.
Now, with Mr. Trump’s advisers struggling to refocus the race away from his critiques of the appearance of Alicia Machado, the former Miss Universe winner who was invoked by Mrs. Clinton during the debate, the Republican nominee’s campaign has signaled a slashing effort going forward.
Mrs. Clinton’s team, Democrats supporting her and many senior Republicans believe that rehashing Mr. Clinton’s behavior will be self-defeating for Mr. Trump, who is facing a historic gender gap and whose first marriage ended after an affair. Mrs. Clinton has also previously tended to benefit when she is seen as a victim of personal attacks.
Still, Democrats consider such tactics inevitable, particularly since Mr. Trump is now being advised by several people connected to efforts in the late 1990s to reveal Mr. Clinton’s affair with the White House intern Monica Lewinsky and to the subsequent impeachment fight.
Mr. Trump’s debate prep sessions included discussions about using the attack as a response if Mrs. Clinton discussed the Republican nominee’s treatment of women over the years. Now, there is a debate about whether to raise it to Mrs. Clinton’s face at the next debate, according to two people briefed on the discussions, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
