I do not find this surprising in the least.
First of all, it is a fact well supported by many, many examples that campaign spending is not a panacea that papers up every campaign problem. If it were, Meg Whitman would be governor of California. The connection between campaign spending and electoral success is not as clear cut as people assume.
Secondly, Trump is running an unorthodox and highly effective campaign that does not require huge ad buys. I know everyone thinks he’s insane, but he is not. He’s a sociopathic asshole, but he is much, much more clever than he is given credit for here, and he has successfully established a firm base of voters by conducting a campaign that is distinctly atypical of Presidential campaigns. None of this is an accident.
Having now solidified a base of about 40% of the voters, he’s going to spend the next two months trying his best to look like a normal candidate to win over undecided and swing voters. You read it here first; he’s going to try his damndest to be less Trumpish and more conventional now. He doesn’t have to spend a ton of money, he just has to “look Presidential.”
[QUOTE=Snowboarder Bo]
Who exactly does Mr. Trump think this will turn away from Mrs. Clinton?
I don’t think he understands how this whole voting thing works.
[/QUOTE]
Of course he does. He’s merely commenting to support his base, firing them up. And sure, it might affect an undecided voter or two. Again, he is not stupid. He does not have early-onset Alzheimer’s. He’s hideous and ignorant in many ways, but smart at what he does, and he has done a total end run around the way these things are usually done, is close to being elected President, and people still seem unwilling to believe it.
Clinton’s comments were stupid. She is proposing to be the President of the United States of America, a capacity in which she must serve all Americans, including the (at least) 55 million or so of whom will vote for Trump. Even the ones whose opinions she doesn’t like will be her employers, and it is her job to serve them, and it’s hard to convince people you plan to well serve them if you think they’re worthless.