I just listened to a clip of Ted Cruz calling out Trump, challenging him to a one on one debate this Saturday. He went after Trump not for being mean or vindictive, but for being cowardly. It reminded me of Back to the Future, similar to how Biff Tannen would call out Marty. I think skipping the debate is the big mistake that will bring the Trump campaign down. He is going to be portrayed as being a coward, and I think this time it’s going to stick.
Whether or not “the base” thinks McCain is a RINO is immaterial; few think he is “yellow-bellied” or that serving his country and having been a POW is something that a cowardly rich boy who never served in the military should mock. Hence vet groups saying as linked above - don’t hide behind us.
Trump is definitely no Third Reich, and he also is no Stalin. A circus freak show act? Maybe. A corporate brand? Definitely.
All that will accomplish is to convince a big chunk of the GOP base that they’re just another part of the “lamestream media”. Another item for the list of way that their anti-intellectual appeal-to-the-id strategy is now coming back to bite them.
“this is the big mistake that will bring the Trump campaign down” is threatening to become the “this is the break the McCain campaign has been waiting for” of this cycle.
On balance I think this was a mistake. Trump is the leader but he still has only around 35% and as the race consolidates he will face 1/2 opponents with a vote share approaching his. He will need to attract more voters and Fox is probably the single biggest influence on Republican voters. He can’t assume that his 35% is rock solid either. I think 25% will stay loyal but 5-10% might be attracted to someone attacking Trump from the right like Cruz.
Hahaha, nice. He will lose badly in the general though.
I’m thinking it’s a mistake too. But then I’ve thought that a half dozen or more times during Trump’s campaign and he’s come out ahead every time. I guess it just boils down to how many people see what’s really going on vs. how many are put off by accusations of cowardice or a belief that candidates owe it to the public to show up and participate in the debates.
I have a feeling it may cost him Iowa but I also have a feeling he’s decided to sacrifice Iowa if he has to in order to play hardball with Fox/Murdoch/Ailes. Trump has always made it a practice not to be trifled with. He talked about it as far back as The Art of the Deal. I’ve been surprised at the way he’s been able to bring that philosophy to bear in campaigning for president but so far it’s paid off. It’ll be interesting to see if it pays off this time.
Sure, but look at the vicious bloodbath the Dem primary has become! Its like Fight Club remade by the Amish.
I think his opposition to Fox is his pivot to the mainstream.
That might actually be a very good point.
Next up: if Trump wins the GOP nomination, he’ll agree to debate the Dem nominee as long as Hillary isn’t there. 
But would they be OK with this guy as moderator? 
Right. I still think people are missing the point that he doesn’t have the option “look strong, attend debate”. That ship had sailed once FOX held him up for ridicule. Some voters may see cowardice in his choice, but I firmly believe it is less damaging to his image than to have acquiesced to being “trifled with”, as you aptly put it. Trump can’t lose any staring contests, back down to any ape aggression displays, or he is utterly undone.
I don’t think Ducking Donald is ready for the jokes, the non-stop ridicule, the laughter that is going to follow him around now wherever he goes. That’s going to be his kryptonite. Once somebody really gets his goat.
I’m gonna go with ‘one more item in the endless list of things that were supposed to take Trump down, but didn’t.’
I don’t watch FOX other than during their debates. When did FOX hold Trump up for ridicule, as opposed to holding him up for scrutiny? I don’t think the questions he got from Megyn Kelly in the first debate count as being held up for ridicule.
Fox News Responds to Trump’s Latest ’Twitter Poll’ With First-Rate Trolling
And let’s not forget that after the first debate, Fox News presented a “focus group” of “randomly selected” Republican voters who all happened to agree that Trump was awful. That was clearly a stunt designed to embarrass Trump.
This is not going to hurt Trump, I don’t think. Apparently, Bill O’Reilly, on last nights show, was practically begging Donald to change his mind, so I think it’s Fox News that is going to get dinged in this spat.
Okay, Qin. Your sarcasm is starting to look like your actual position. If I hadn’t happened to look at your user page for some reason, I wouldn’t have known you were a Clinton supporter.
Not only here, but your use of certain words makes it sound like you are buying into the hyperaggressive style of Trump’s supporters. You might want to tone it down. What you say can wind up actually changing your mind.
And thus why a Trump presidency leads to World War III. He won’t be able to be seen as backing down from Putin. This is his biggest weakness.
I know you probably think he’d turn it off after being elected, but I’ve yet to see any sign he’s capable of doing so. I think this is a good place where it would have made sense for him to do so. He’d keep his supporters with just lip service and some extra lies, while still being able to reach everyone else.
Instead he’s pretty much admitted it’s about ratings to him.
Those are all fairly left-leaning groups (not so sure about IAVA, but Paul Rieckhoff certainly is). So it’s really not surprising that they are distancing themselves from Trump.