Democratic consultant Lis Smith said Trump only hurt himself by slamming Franken. "His desire to lash out against his perceived enemies outstrips his capacity for being strategic,” Smith said. "He may have thought he was counterpunching, when he really was just punching himself in the face.” Nicole Hemmer, an assistant professor with the Miller Center of Public Affairs at UVA, described the Trump tapes as another example of the president's tendency to project his own behavior onto others.