“Just getting pulled into that discussion harms Biden,” said Amanda Renteria, who was national political director of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign. “Headlines matter no matter what the facts end up being. … This isn’t going away, obviously. And what you’ve learned in the last 48 hours is this is a narrative folks are going to want to push.”

After Business Insider published two on-the-record sources Monday saying Reade told them about the accusations years ago — resulting in a rush of follow-up media reports — Republicans quickly amplified Reade’s claims, and Democrats began reassessing the potential damage.

One Democratic strategist said, “Jumping from Daily Caller to CNN seems like a worrying trend.”

Biden has denied the accusations, and many Democrats, including Renteria, suspect they are politically motivated. But the drip of news is forcing high-profile senators, including potential vice presidential candidates, to defend Biden. At a minimum, it is altering Democrats’ messaging around the presidential campaign at a critical time.

Sens. Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar — both potential vice presidential selections — have praised Biden when asked about Reade’s allegations in recent interviews. So has Stacey Abrams, another vice presidential contender. Referring to The New York Times’ review of Reade’s accusations, she told The Daily Beast that “nothing in the Times review suggests anything other than what I already knew: That Joe Biden is a man of highest integrity who will make all women proud as our next president.”

On Tuesday, the day Clinton endorsed Biden, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, one of the most outspoken advocates of the #MeToo movement, was asked whether Democrats were contradicting themselves with their handling of Reade’s accusations and those against now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

“No, and I stand by Vice President Biden,” Gillibrand said on a conference call. “He’s devoted his life to supporting women, and he has vehemently denied this allegation.”

Some Democrats fear the accusation — even if it fails to stick with the electorate — could muddy a potent line of attack on President Donald Trump, who has been accused of sexual assault and misconduct by multiple women, and enable his allies to mount false equivalency attacks against Biden.

Chris Lippincott, a Texas-based Democratic strategist who ran a super PAC opposing Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, said that “one of the things that has consistently aided [Trump] is that he is held to such a low standard. That’s not a standard to which Joe Biden is held.”

Regardless of the merits of the Reade accusation, Lippincott said, “It creates a problem for Biden that it would not for Trump.”

The potential ramifications were on display this week, in the remarks of women instrumental in the #MeToo movement.

Alyssa Milano, the actress and early advocate of the #MeToo movement, was recently pilloried by progressives and feminists who accused her of turning her back on the woman because she supported Biden.

Milano had expressed doubt about the weight of evidence, saying in an interview she linked that “I just don’t feel comfortable throwing away a decent man that I’ve known for 15 years in this time of complete chaos without there being a thorough investigation.”

But on Monday, she wrote on Twitter, “I’m aware of the new developments in Tara Reade’s accusation against Joe Biden. I want Tara, like every other survivor, to have the space to be heard and seen without being used as fodder. I hear and see you, Tara #MeToo.”

Tarana Burke, a founder of the #MeToo movement, said on Twitter on Tuesday that “the defense of Joe Biden shouldn’t rest on whether or not he's a ‘good guy’ or ‘our only hope.’ Instead, he could demonstrate what it looks like to be both accountable and electable. Meaning, at minimum, acknowledging that his demonstrated learning curve around boundaries with women, at the very least, left him open to the plausibility of these claims.”

Trump’s campaign is seizing on the Reade accusation as an indictment of not only Biden, but of the media — a rallying cry for his supporters.

“It comes as no surprise that the Democrats and mainstream media have given Joe Biden a pass on his sexual assault allegations,” Ken Farnaso, a spokesman for Trump’s reelection campaign, said in a prepared statement.

Comparing the Reade case with Kavanaugh’s, he said “there’s no doubt that there is a double standard that exists. … It’s baffling that nearly everyone in American politics has been asked for a reaction to this except Joe Biden himself. Is he off-limits?”

Last year, Reade told reporters that Biden had inappropriately touched her in the 1990s, including on her neck and shoulder, but she did not discuss an alleged assault. Then, in March, on a podcast with progressive Katie Halper, she said he had assaulted her.

According to Reade, a staff assistant in Biden’s office at the time, Biden “penetrated me with his fingers” in 1993.

"When I pulled away, the anger kind of emanated from him," Reade told POLITICO. "He pointed his finger in my face and said, 'You're nothing to me. You're nothing.'"

Biden’s campaign has consistently referred questions to a statement from Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager and communications director.

"Vice President Biden has dedicated his public life to changing the culture and the laws around violence against women. He authored and fought for the passage and reauthorization of the landmark Violence Against Women Act. He firmly believes that women have a right to be heard — and heard respectfully," Bedingfield said. "Such claims should also be diligently reviewed by an independent press. What is clear about this claim: it is untrue. This absolutely did not happen."

Renteria said the Biden campaign is in a difficult position but that attacks from Trump and his allies will likely force Biden to respond.

“There’s two things: One, address it as quickly as you can,” she said. “And two, show a depiction of who you are … not get caught up in playing defense, but really showcasing who you are as a person. I think that’s what you have to continue to do, is be the sincere person that you are.”

For many Democrats, that may prove sufficient. Tracy Sefl, a former Clinton adviser, said she has “spent my adult life advocating for survivors of sexual assault and working to eradicate rape culture. I know the research on the psychological effects of disclosure on survivors. I know the statistics about disclosures vis-a-vis prosecution and conviction rates.”

But she also said, “I know that the GOP has been fueling this story through various channels. Perhaps Republicans could take their wokeness about eradicating sexual assault and get the Senate to reauthorize the Violence Against Women’s Act?”

She added, “Elections are about the future, as we are forever reminded. When it comes to the future — mine, my family and friends, the future of this suffering country — I’m proud to support Joe Biden versus four more years of Donald Trump.”

Christine Pelosi, daughter of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the chair of the California Democratic Party Women’s Caucus, said Reade’s accusations should be afforded an independent investigation. But the “constant weaponization,” she said, “that’s what I think is really quite disturbing.”

“Will it change the impression of a particular voter who’s making a binary choice between Joe Biden and Donald Trump?” she said. “I don’t think so.”

Rose Kapolczynski, a Democratic strategist and adviser to former Sen. Barbara Boxer, also suggested that the political fallout from the accusations may be minimal because the coronavirus pandemic has turned voters’ focus sharply to public health and the economy.

“What percentage of voters are even paying attention to the presidential race right now?” she said. “Everyone’s concerned first about their health and their job, so while rehashing allegations is a big deal on Twitter, I don’t think the November electorate is paying attention to it at all.”

