Since its launch in June, Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign has been nothing short of a full-on, in-your-face, verbal onslaught, the shockwaves felt in the bellies of those of us who live and die by the politics of the minute. On any given day, Donald Trump can be seen on the campaign trail–almost exclusively covered live–a rarity in primary politics. The media soak it all in, confident Trump will make at least one outrageous statement that can be replayed, reacted to, or in some cases, re-formed into something he didn’t even say. It makes for entertaining television.
Contrast Trump’s campaign events to his GOP competitors’, what little is covered of all of the other sixteen of them. We mostly see recorded snippets of candidates giving a lackluster or poorly thought out response to whatever Trump was expounding upon the day before. Even worse, many of the more “experienced” politicians seem to be repeatedly caught flat-footed when asked their take on the latest Trump-ism. The defensive campaign is not a good one, and for a party that is always being attacked, the sixteen other GOP candidates aren’t getting better at defense. Trump leads, his opponents scramble.
Read more