Personally I think Trump stepped in it in a military state by mocking a former Governor’s husband for not being on the campaign trail. How big the pile of you know what remains to be seen, but with Army, Air Force and Marine Bases in the state and the fact that even though the only formal Naval installations are two Naval Hospitals the Navy’s presence with ships using Charleston there’s quite the military footprint. Trump decided it would be a good idea to mock Haley by asking rally attendees Where’s Nikki’s Husband? The implication of course being she and her campaign means so little to him he won’t show up and support her!
An article by The Hill lays it out:
During a South Carolina rally on Saturday, Trump mocked Haley’s husband, who was deployed to Africa in June last year with the South Carolina Army National Guard, for being absent from the campaign trail.
“Where’s her husband?” Trump said. “‘Oh, he’s away, he’s away.’ What happened to her husband? What happened to her husband? Where is he? He’s gone.”
His comments sparked criticism from Haley, who said Trump has “no business being commander in chief.”
So what do we have? Trump mocking Haley’s husband for not being out there campaigning with/for her. And it’s because Haley’s husband Michael is a Commissioned Officer in the South Carolina National Guard, and is currently on a deployment to Africa! I don’t know how much this will affect the GOP primary in Haley’s home state of South Carolina but it’s going to matter at least some. I’ll get to that more in a minute.
The important thing at the moment is that Haley has hit back and hard, and flat out pointed out his history of disrespect of those who serve. Both on the trail and in an interview she’s pointedly stated Trump has, and is continuing to denigrate all who have and who are currently serving. She’s said Trump isn’t fit to be Commander-in-Chief. Not quite Chris Christie level but if she’s just warming up and is going to keep up such talk the back and forth should be spectacular.
That she is already getting help from others is an encouraging sign. In the linked article by The Hill the lede is:
“Yeah, he’s an ass—-,” Scott Jennings said on CNN’s “State of the Union” in response to Trump’s remarks the day before.
Later on the article covers Jennings’ suggesting Trump is taking cheap shots, and reinforces both the headline of their article and the lede:
“It’s not the first time he’s been an ass—-. That won’t be the last time he’s been an ass—-. But that’s what it is now. So people like it. And I know people are going to slough it off as well, ‘This is just a tough political campaign.’” Jennings said.
“The man is serving the United States in uniform overseas. So it’s a below the belt shot against someone who is not going to beat him for the nomination,” he added.
Will Haley continuing to punch back at Trump over this propel her to a win? I truly doubt it. However, IF she keeps it up and others chime in it could provide the traction she needs to only lose by ten to fifteen points. That’s likely enough that Charles Koch will tell his political operation Americans For Prosperity to keep the money and logistical support flowing through Super Tuesday. However, it MIGHT wind up having a more significant impact.
We all know journalists just love their “horse race” speculation instead of doing actual news, and though they’ve tried to write Haley off and turn to Biden vs. Trump a Haley Candidacy that keeps showing Trump’s only getting 50-60% of conservative voters to vote for him gives them another horse race to talk about. Trump was expected to win South Carolina by 25-30 percent which could prove embarrassing enough for her and Koch/APF to give in. However, if Haley can “only lose” by a margin in the low or even mid teens after months of predictions of a blowout journalists might start speculating – why?
It’s clear they’ve got no intention of treating Trump’s mental deterioration the way they should. They’ve by god decided, even though they KNOW otherwise that Biden’s still got it mentally that his and ONLY his age is something to fret about. However, it’s possible if Haley hangs in close enough they might decide this gaffe by Trump about Haley’s husband is the reason. And, if they start down that particular road stories about Trump blowing off visiting Aisne-Marine (where the dead of the Battle of Belleau Wood are buried) during the WWI Armistice ceremonies will come up. And because his then Chief of Staff John Kelley was at his side as they stood at the grave of Kelley’s son at Arlington National Cemetery and remarked that he (Trump) didn’t get it, what was in it for them? will come up too. And of course his comments about John McCain.
A lot of those Super Tuesday states are in the south and though they might be winner take all in delegate allocation Trump only getting 50-60 percent of the vote will keep Haley’s candidacy going. The longer she’s in, the worse it is for Trump. IF SCOTUS declines to take up Trump’s bullshit immunity appeal in in the coming week we are looking at a DC criminal trial in MAY! Trump might well have the delegates he needs but if Haley keeps going anyway Trump will head into the GOP convention badly wounded. If the GOP though 1992 was bad for them (it was) and we though 2016 was bad for us (it also was) this year could wind up being more Chicago 1968.
Well, that’s quite a bit of speculating on my part. I am however laying down a marker. IF Haley doesn’t back off and even ups her direct criticism of Trump being disrespectful of the troops and IF other Republicans like Jennings join it who knows? Here’s some food for thought too. I almost used a title picture of Haley and her husband hugging when he returned home from Afghanistan. Instead I went with what you see, the Haley’s with a certain VIP as the unit was gathering for the official deployment ceremony. Yep. Good ole Lyndsay Graham is right there. Graham for those who don’t know or might have forgotten is a Reservist himself. (I’m not sure if he still is but was for decades) A JAG (Judge Advocate General) trooper. A military lawyer.
Hey, he turned around and betrayed the memory of John McCain who made his political career what it once was. (With plenty of help from McCain’s good friend Joe Biden!) so it’s a given that he’ll pick Trump over Haley in this spat. What matters though is that it will give journalists one more way to point out both Trump’s AND Graham’s trashing Haley by using her husband’s absence. I’m pissed that journalists aren’t already asking the question of Trump and to his minions “What’s Michael Haley supposed to do? Abandon his duty station and fly home? And wind up convicted of desertion at a Court Martial?” I’d REALLY love to see that very thing put to Graham. Wouldn’t you?
Since I’m told you guys follow us here, how bout it Lincoln Project? I know you’re working on this already. How about adding in that just posed question, or cutting a separate video featuring Lyndsay the Lamprey Graham? Lamprey – yuck, but appropriate when it comes to Graham)
Scott Jennings nailed it. Enough said.
This pissant dodged service with a bullshit lie about bone spurs. He’s too vain to honor the WW1 dead. He shit on gold star families. He denigrated the purple heart. He got a serviceman killed in Chad and gave his pregnant grieving widow a flippant response overheard by a congresswoman. He called us vets suckers. He used the military during holiday leave to patrol the border. He tried to have the military fire on citizens exercising their right to protest. He disparaged McCain, a war hero. He’s a true traitor, yet 76 million citizens voted for him. This country is FULL OF TRAITORS! FACT!!!!
My question to the liar from SC is if he’s not “fit to be the Commander In Chief”, then why did you raise YOUR HAND saying you’d vote for him? The truth is NEITHER OF YOU ARE ACCEPTABLE!!!!
Don’t forget his grandfather only wound up in the U.S. because HE was a fucking draft dodger back in the “old country.” He tried to slink back some years later and sadly, tragically even instead of being concripted to do his service and get on with his life the King kicked his ass right out. And he wound up back here again. For good. No one going back at least that far on the Drumpf/Trump side has served as much as one day. No one on his mom’s side either. Draft dodging is in Trump’s blood. Hell, it’s in his DNA!
Seems like draft dodging is a family trait. Fred served in WW II but never saw combat. He was an O who was involved with constructive and finance.
From what I know the Is don’t much like him, but the Estate tend to be more conservative. Biden needs to.hit some military bases,and we remind him that a Republican Tommy Rugby fills held up.their promotions for a very long time,,which cost them money. Say that over and over, remind them.of the WWI vets he disrespected, and what he said about a,McCain. Rinse. Repeat.
Funny how an arsehole is instantly recognisable, couched in the norms of any society. And attracts the critical ridicule they richly deserve.
this wasn’t a gaffe. a gaffe is unintentional, it might matter to independents but not to the cult members which include a lot of retired and active duty military.
Didn’t know Graham was a reservist.
Good thing for “Don’t ask, don’t tell”.