Heading into the fist Fox News GOP debate in Cleveland, Ohio Aug. 6, no one knew what to expect of real estate mogul and reality TV star Donald Trump. Ahead in pre-debate polls over his nearest competitor former Florida governor Jeb Bush by nearly 10%, Trump towered over the rest of the GOP field. Statements by Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus confirmed his animus toward Trump, telling NBC’s “The Apprentice” star July 9 to “tone it down.” Conservative media radio icon Rush Limbaugh told the real story about why Trump received such loaded questions from the debate’s Fox News moderators, Chris Wallace, Megyn Kelly and Brent Baier. Calling the Fox New debate a “set up” for Trump, Limbaugh noted Trump’s incendiary questioning from the get-go. Opening the debate, Bair asked all candidates if they’d back the eventual GOP nominee.
When Trump raised his hand signaling that he’d have to wait-and-see, the moderators and other candidates gasped, setting up what looked like a hostile confrontation. Republicans generally feel right at home in Fox News interviews, much the same as experts feel good under direct examination by their own attorneys. Democrats feel the heat of cross-examination by Fox News hosts. Trump felt the heat from Wallace, Kelly and Bair from the opening bell. It’s no accident that Trump received between 30%-50% more time than any other candidate. Kelly’s first question to Trump referred to his alleged degrading statements toward women on his NBC reality-TV show. Instead to helping Kelly understand the difference between entertainment and his real feelings, Trump confronted Kelly for taking such a cheap shot, knowing “The Apprentice” is only Hollywood entertainment..
Disinvited from the conservative RedState gathering in Atlanta, Trump was blackballed for comments made against Megyn Kelly. Recognizing he’d been set up by Kelly, Trump lashed out, saying she “had blood coming out of her eyes, coming out of wherever,” prompting RedState organizer Erick Erickson to ban Trump. “There are bounds of what’s acceptable in our discourse and they’re not different for you and me or someone else. I’m not going to have a guy on state with my wife and daughter in the crow who think a tough question from a woman is because of hormones,” said Erickson, misrepresenting Trump’s beef. Trump complained, as Limbaugh said, because he was set up by the RNC and Fox News to fail. Unlike any other the candidate at the Aug. 6 debate, Fox News went after Trump for the purpose of driving him out of the GOP presidential race.
Regardless of Trump’s front-runner status, Priebus and Erickson know that Trump isn’t welcomed at conservative events. Trump’s ascendance to the top of the GOP polls doesn’t come from social or religious conservatives. They wouldn’t vote for Trump if he were the “second coming.” “Mr. Trump: There is no excuse,” said 60-year-old former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, whose abysmal polling put her as a second tier candidate, well out of the top 10. Even Fox News’ mild mannered Chris Wallace took a cheap shot at Trump with a question about his company’s past bankruptcies. Wallace knows that many multinational companies have subsidiaries, from time to time, that file for bankruptcy protection, including GM and Chrysler. Not one other of the nine GOP candidates, other than Trump, was subjected to incendiary questions designed to impeach his credibility.
Trump doesn’t need conservative forums to derive his constituency inside or outside the Republican Party. As latecomer to the 2016 race Ohio Gov. John Kasich said in the debate, Trump hit a raw nerve with voters, fed up with Washington’s business-as-usual. When Kelly blindsided Trump about his disparaging comments toward women, Turmp should have reminded Kelly it’s all theatrics, built into the concept of NBC’s “The Apprentice,” namely, Trump expressing his open disdain for all participants. Instead of buying the premise of Kelly’s question, Trump should have politely taken exception with Megyn’s concerns, reassuring her it’s only Hollywood entertainment. “The is just another examples of weakness through the being politically correct. For all the people who were looking forward to Mr. Trump coming, we will miss you. Blame Erick Erickson, your weak and pathetic leader,” said Trump’s campaign.
Trump did the right thing refusing the knee-jerk reaction to Bret Bair’s first question of whether or not he’d back the eventual GOP nominee. If the RNC and Fox News continue the hatchet job on Trump, he has every right to withhold his endorsement of any eventual nominee, or, for that matter, consider running on a “Third Party” or as an independent. With GOP conservative icon Rush Limbaugh acknowledging that Fox News set up Trump, the RNC has some real soul searching before its next sponsored debate. When the GOP looks at its real chances against presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton, it’s going to take more than an ordinary mainstream Republican. Today’s GOP conservatives are so out-of-touch on all major issues, including immigration, entitlements, abortion, same-sex marriage, economy, etc., to win a national election.
