Donald Trump set such a low bar during the 2016 election that one Democratic candidate is pledging not to use stolen or hacked information from foreign actors in the 2020 race. This is how we live now, folks.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand issued the detailed pledge on Tuesday. While many Democratic candidates, including Gillibrand, went on the record with the Daily Beast in February saying they wouldn't use hacked material in their respective campaigns, Gillibrand is reportedly the first to put this promise in the form of a formal pledge.

Yes, Trump's shenanigans and Russia's role in influencing that election has had such a stark, lasting effect on American politics that candidates now feel they have to promise they won't seek another country's help to win.

Gillibrand released her four-point plan on Twitter Tuesday morning. There are some clear shots at Trump's behavior during the 2016 election.

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Remember, in July 2016, with the conventions unfolding and hacked Democratic National Committee emails leaking courtesy of WikiLeaks, Donald Trump attacked Hillary Clinton's use of a private server for government emails and literally called on Russia to find thousands of "missing" emails.

This is to say nothing of the oft-discussed June 2016 meeting — which has been widely analyzed, including in the Mueller Report — at Trump Tower in New York City. Trump campaign operatives, including Donald Trump, Jr. and Jared Kushner, met with a Kremlin-linked Russian attorney in hopes of receiving damaging information on Hillary Clinton.

Before 2016, the idea that a presidential candidate would except such aid from a "foreign actor," particularly an adversary like Russia, was so preposterous (and potentially illegal) that no one would assume it necessary for a candidate to proclaim they would do no such thing.

In fact, some Twitter users thought Gillibrand's promise was a joke, because why would a candidate feel the need to issue a statement vowing to, essentially, run a campaign that stays within the boundaries of the law?

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But the pledge is very real, and it's one Gillibrand is encouraging supporters to "join her" in solidarity with by submitting their names and email addresses on her website, stating:

I pledge that my campaign won’t use stolen or hacked information from any foreign actors, and I’m asking all of my fellow 2020 candidates to join me. Russia is a foreign adversary of the United States, and the Trump administration is refusing to stop them from attacking our elections again. Protecting our political institutions, elections and campaigns from foreign interference is critical to protecting America’s democracy.

Of course, that's a useful way to get people on her mailing list. It's also a depressingly relevant way to do so.

Topics Donald Trump Politics