The Beginning of Trump’s Long, Steep Decline (He Said Hopefully)
Posted on January 27, 2016
By Michael Vadon - https://www.flickr.com/photos/80038275@N00/20724666936/, CC BY-SA 2.0, $3
Donald Trump’s decision to skip the Fox Debate and avoid tough questions from Megyn Kelly will prove to be his undoing.
That’s my hope and my prediction.
Trump is getting cocky and this is just a further indication of that cockiness.
Earlier in the month, Trump said that he could get away with murdering somebody and that it wouldn’t hurt him in the polls.
I don’t think that is true, but that comment does show Trump’s impressive self-confidence.
But when you get too confident in your own abilities, you make bad decisions.
And not participating in this Fox debate is a huge mistake.
It’s a huge mistake because Trump has actually done pretty well in the last several. If the on-line polls and Frank Luntz are to be believed, the Donald has persuaded his audience that he was winner in every GOP debate thus far.
Folks like me might shake our heads and wonder what the appeal is, but to the Trump voters, when he is in an arena, slashing his opponents with one-liners, calling Jeb Bush low-energy and otherwise dominating the stage, he strikes a chord.
By not participating, he is missing a huge earned media opportunity.
It is a huge opportunity for his opponents.
With Trump not there to defend himself, who will defend him when John Kasich or Rand Paul or even Ben Carson take a whack at him?
Well, maybe Ted Cruz (you never know) but probably nobody.
That’s a free shot for his opponents and I assume they will all take one.
Trump also looks like he can’t stand the heat and the American people don’t like that in their leaders.
Should he be afraid of Megyn Kelly? Yes, probably. But you don’t win a fight with her by running away. You win a fight by preparing for the likely questions and standing your ground.
It was Brett Maverick who said that his philosophy was run away so he could live to run away another day.
But that’s not the kind of courage we expect from our leaders.
Trump is no leader. He is a showman. And he thinks he can take his show and go home.
But that’s not how it works when you run for President.
You have to stay in the kitchen no matter how hot the stove gets.
Will this be the beginning of the end for the Trump campaign?
If he doesn’t become the nominee, I think historians will look at this moment as the reason he lost his mojo and then lost the nomination.