Image IS Everything! Madison Avenue Advertising mantra
I’ll give Nikki Haley credit, she has gone farther than anybody not named Christie to rip into Traitor Tot on issues that have actual meat on the bone. Although you’ll notice that she doesn’t fo so far so it makes it impossible to endorse him once this farce is finally over.
But the longer Haley stays in the campaign, the greater of a gift she is to the Biden campaign. Simply because while she refers to Trump and Biden as Grumpier Old Men, she doesn’t make a campaign in her rallies and speeches of Biden’s dotage and infirmity on the campaign trail. She’ll save that for if she ever wins the GOP nomination, which she won’t. But every time she shows Trump f*cking up, and then correcting him to the glee of her supporters, she’s literally filming another Biden attack ad for for His Lowness in the general campaign.
But when you’re sitting where Nikki Haley is, looking like you’re going to get roasted by an opponent in your own home state by some 28 points, the last thing you need to do is to go out looking for more trouble. And that’s exactly what Haley is doing right now, and I’m terrified that she might just drag President Biden down into the mosh pit with her.
I get why she’s trying to do it. If you’ve spent any serious time watching the Mango Messiah over the last two years, he isn’t the man child he was back in 2015-16/ He rambles more, he repeats himself constantly, as his ego has taken a pounding, his rallies have grown about 45 minutes to more than 2 hours, causing even die hard fans to leave. He’s a walking poster child for her premium attack line, and she envisions humiliating him on stage before a nation of his most ardent supporters. I get it.
But it would be the kiss of death for her campaign to debate Trump. Just like it would cost Biden heavy damage to actually debate The Scruffy Guru in the fall campaign. And I can say this not only as someone who has spent far too much time in this sick puppy’s head, but also becausde I’ve spent more time observing the mainstream media covering Trump. And I’ve reached one simple conclusion.
You. Can’t. Debate. Trump. For one simple reason. In our current political climate, there are two separate and distinct political creatures. There are Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, and then there’s El Oendejo Presidente. And those two have never been judged equally, under the same rules, by either the media or Trump’s supporters.
Get it straight. From the June 2015 day when The Trumpster Fire farted his way down that rattletrap schlock gilt elevator, with Melania wrinkling her nose in disgust, Hair Twitler has never been anything but The Roslyn Village Idiot. His supporters loved him because he had the gall and balls to come right out and say what the rest of that pathetic mob wished that they could say in the bar or at the office. And the media loved him because he was like a 24 car pile up, free bulk filler for hours on end, no assembly required.
It’s not like nobody else in the field scored points on Trump on the debate stage in 2016. Christie, Rubio, Cruz, even Carly Fiorina clipped him upside the chops. And the media even played their witty jabs, but not to show that Trump was open to assault. No, they played those bits in order to show Trump’s crude tasteless responses. Trump ran on the 3 B’s, balls, bombast, and bullsh*t. And since that’s what it was all about, little wonder that the media kept saying Nobody laid a glove on him.
And that’s why Nikki Haley can’t win in a straight up debate against Trump, and neither can Biden. because the rules of the game are still rigged! The media and the non Trombie viewers who tune in are going to expect anybody on the stage with Traitor Tot to be a serious, well prepared, unflappable presidential candidate. But when it comes to Emperor Numbus Nuttus I, it’s the same old thing, balls, bombast, and bullsh*t.
None of us are perfect. At some time during a debate, Haley would misspeak and correct herself, cough or hiccup, or pause for a few seconds to frame her answer. And I bet you dollars-to-jelly-donuts that in the post debate rehash, the media shows that as evidence of Haley folding under Trump’s withering assault! And the same thing goes for Biden in the general election as well. He can slice Trump up like a sushi chef, but if he pauses to cough into his fist, he’s showing his infirmity and dotage!
You can’t. Debate. Trump. Simply because it is impossible. After all, a debate is a scheduled event with a conflicting exchange of ideas and opinions. Except for the fact that Trump has no ideas or opinions! It’s all balls, bluster, and bullsh*t. His acolytes and the media will let him get away with it, simply because it’s what he’s always done. And the serious candidates trying to appeal to the soggy middle Democratic, GOP, and independent voters? Well, you know what they say. You roll around with pigs, you get covered in mud. It’s a suckers bet.
I thank you for the privilege of your time.
I agree Murf. Hopefully his advisors are astute enough to know how slanted the playing field is. Let them eat their young and let the court cases do the talking. Then do strategic sniping. Let dark Brandon’s freak flag fly! Never give them what they’re asking for.
I think you’re on to something. Trump’s schtick didn’t come from nowhere. He has always been a con man who observed others putting one over on people and he became buddies with radio shock jock Howard Stern long, long ago. Stern, like other shock jocks knew generating outrage and breaking the rules was their meal ticket. Sure, it could cost them a gig but there has ALWAYS been someplace that would take them in and give them another gig. I was never much for Stern, and got stationed in the DC area after he got fired. For calling up Air Florida after that tragic plane crash just after taking off from National Airport due to ice on the wings. Stern, while on the air called up Air Florida and asked what time was their next flight to the 14th Street Bridge! (the major Potomac crossing from next to the Pentagon and DC) But sure enough NBC, the network’s mother ship hired him.
I never wanted to watch the movie about his life story but was convinced to do so and sat through it. Once. (Naturally his ego was such he starred as himself instead of allowing an actor to portray him) His immediate supervisor at NBC couldn’t believe the rating he started to generate and asked the people who looked at that for details. Data indicated the most common reason people tuned into his show because they liked him was “I want to hear what he’ll say next.” Okay, that made sense and frankly still does. In the end it’s all about money and if someone spent the show farting if it made enough money someone would air it. What struck the producer however was that data showed as many listeners hated Stern as like him which begged the question why the hell they would tune in? The deadpan response from the number cruncher was “Most commonly given reason – I want to hear what he’ll say next.”
That explains both Stern and Trump and why news bosses are having wet dreams over him being the nominee again. They might be cutting away from his rallies for now (as they’ve been doing for a while now) but come summer if not before we’ll be seeing a LOT more of him and his screaming MAGAs. And they will do everything in their power to avoid showing proof that the rallies are much, much smaller than they used to be, or people getting bored and walking out in droves. But Trump learned from his buddy Stern that important lesson – that even people that hate you will pay attention because they want to see/hear what he’ll do next.
The only way to treat him is not to put him on TV at all. But he generates ratings and therefore money so they’ll by god do it. They knew it was hurting the country back in 2016 but alll they cared about was the fucking money they were making. And I guarantee you that’s all they care about now. So instead of a few seconds of his fuckup or outrage surrounded before and after with a shitload of context and rebuttal he’ll get BETTER than equal time.
There is a convention to an actual debate, and it doesn’t include non-stop talking over your opponent, non-stop lies and nonsense. I would not watch a debate with tRump. It was painful (and creepy) watching what he did in the debates with Clinton. I simply could not watch his-vileness with Joe. Just don’t do it, Joe.