Earlier this evening, CNN’s Don Lemon interviewed Donald Trump about the debate on Fox News Channel last night, and set off another Trump-related tempest. After noting that Kelly pushed Trump during the debate, and that she “pushed a lot of people” besides Trump, Lemon asked, “What is it with you and Megyn Kelly?” Trump’s reply was, er … colorful, to say the least [emphasis mine]:
TRUMP: Well, I just don’t respect her as a journalist, I have no respect for her. I don’t think she’s very good, I think she’s highly overrated. But when I came out there, you know — what am I doing? I’m not getting paid for this. I go out there, and they start saying this stuff [garbled]. But you know, I didn’t know there’d be 24 million people. I knew it was going to be a big crowd because I get crowds, I get ratings. They call me the ratings machine. So I have, you know, she gets out and she starts asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions, and you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her … wherever. But in my opinion, she was off base.
Kelly did ask Trump tough questions in last night’s debate, but she asked tough questions of Marco Rubio on abortion too, and of other candidates on stage as well. As the front-runner, Trump should have expected tough questions, especially given his track record of supporting nearly every progressive idea at one time or another, including Hillary Clinton being President. Kelly also asked Trump about his remarks about women, which appears to have particularly rankled him — and pushed him into validating Kelly’s premise in asking those questions in the first place. After all, it’s not often when a major party candidate takes a shot at a woman by reminding everyone of her menstrual cycle. I’m certain that will really impress women about their place in the Republican Party.
Trump was scheduled to speak at the Red State Gathering tomorrow, in the final slot at the event. Not long after these remarks, event organizer Erick Erickson announced that he had withdrawn the invitation:
I have rescinded my invitation to Mr.Trump. While I have tried to give him great latitude, his remark about Megyn Kelly was a bridge too far
That will undoubtedly anger some Trump supporters, but after last night’s debate performance and his thin-skinned whining afterward, I wonder if that group wasn’t already in decline. This might fire up the die-hard Trump troops, but suggesting that a journalist went after his target-rich record only because she was menstruating should be a disqualifier for most voters. It’s vastly worse than anything Todd Akin said, and will almost certainly have media outlets demanding responses from the other Republican candidates. It’s practically tailor-made for Democrats to hoist up the Republican War On Women banner, especially Hillary Clinton.
Get ready for plenty of Team Trump dog-in-the-manger, sour-grapes quotes in the morning, if not overnight. There may be some legitimate anger among a small group of RSG15 attendees tomorrow who wanted to see Trump at this event, but Erick has a solid case for not wanting to have this overshadow the event tomorrow, with more presidential candidates on hand to make their pitches. Erick will almost certainly address this in the morning, and we’ll see what the fallout is over the rest of the day.
Update: Carly Fiorina appears to be the first Republican candidate to respond to Trump’s remarks, perhaps fittingly so (via Twitchy):
That’s interesting, because Fiorina actually deflected a Trump question at her presser today at RSG15 by asking why the media wasn’t calling out Obama for his offensive comments about opponents of the Iran deal. Not this time, apparently.
But I also think that while Mr. Trump resonates with a lot of people with his bluntness, including me to a degree, there are just real lines of decency a person running for President should not trust.
His comment was inappropriate. It is unfortunate to have to disinvite him. But I just don’t want someone on stage who gets a hostile question from a lady and his first inclination is to imply it was hormonal. It just was wrong.
I have invited Megyn Kelly to attend in Donald Trump’s place tomorrow night.
Well, that would be interesting. We’ll see if she can swing that.
Carly Fiorina: "I'm the new rising star Lion-ess of GOP Presidential candidates!"
This broad Fiorina is a hologram. A fake. Wolf in sheeps' clothing. A hedge for Jeb. A totally manufactured candidate who is OBVIOUSLY following a script. She's just as manufactured a product as is the fake outrage against Trump. The Megyn Kelly-led "War on Women!" meme, and the un-holy matrimony of FOX News to the effete GOPe is now exposed to the world. How will Republican voters react to this manipulation?
Q: Is there ANYTHING that either FOX News or the GOPe do that isn't contrived, staged bullsh*t?? Their relationship isn't much different than the symbiosis of MSNBC and the Dem Party.
In her rather miserable 2010 CA Senate campaign, she was adamantly pro-choice and on the global hotting side.
She was, in fairness, just recovering from surgery and breast cancer and had just lost an adopted daughter.
In fairness, why should her personal her problems have played into her life philosophy? In order to be "fair"?? What proof have we that she's sincerely suddenly changed her mind on those two hot-button issues that are traditionally DEM red meat requisites?
I think she has prepared for and wants to be the new Palin, an attack dog that can defy the usual War On Women themes.
That portrayal appears to be the narrative/script for the time being. But now she's just defied her defiance of the "War on Women" theme by going after Trump. That didn't take long.
She is a much better prepared candidate now than she was in her 2010 race or in her role in 2012 as a highly placed Romney surrogate.
Yup, I agree wholeheartedly. Fiorina polished inside and outside, and seems to have attended finishing school for GOPe Candidates.
Given that she is appealing to the GOP party establishment, it's no surprise she's demoing her willingness to go on the attack yet again.
But THIS time, her handlers have jumped on the "Destroy-Trump!" bandwagon, which undoubtedly endears her to the RNC. My impression: Fiorina seems...almost TOO polished, too smooth, too confident. And NOW she can play off and exploit the "War on Women" card and not be treated "meanly" during the campaign. How utterly reptilian AND brilliant!
But THIS time, her handlers have jumped on the "Destroy-Trump!" bandwagon, which undoubtedly endears her to the RNC. My impression: Fiorina seems...almost TOO polished, too smooth, too confident. And NOW she can play off and exploit the "War on Women" card and not be treated "meanly" during the campaign. How utterly reptilian AND brilliant!
It is a clever strategy, certainly obvious enough.
Donald made an unforced error, Fiorina swoops in to capitalize on it.
I saw a number of political consultants who think that Fiorina won both debates on Thursday. No one at the main debate had as good a night as she had in the 5pm debate. Then she raced to PMSNBC and kicked Chrissy Matthews in the balls.
So she's on a roll and will definitely make the cut for the main debate upcoming on CNN. Where she can slice and dice Teh Donald to his face for a big audience.
Let's imagine how that might go. She attacks him for chummy phone calls with Bill Xlinton and for saying he might run third-party. He makes some angry retort about her tenure as HP CEO. She then says something acidic in return and finishes with, "I hope you don't think I'm bleeding from...somewhere like you said about Megan Kelly, you crude buffoon."
The DNC is probably trying to figure out how they got upstaged with the "Trump plan." They probably see Trump in the race as a master stroke of RNC strategery:)
I heard they are now delaying their first debate. Wonder is Vasserman Sholtz is looking for a lightening rod:)
As it stands all the Dim candidates are boring. Not good "television."
The DNC is probably trying to figure out how they got upstaged with the "Trump plan." They probably see Trump in the race as a master stroke of RNC strategery:)
You know they're trying to script up ways to tar the entire GOP with Trump.
Media to any GOP nominee: "Why did you not confront Donald Trump's hate speech toward Mexicans or even Megan Kelly? Aren't you part of the GOP's War On Womyn?"
Is Trump the tar on the GOP or is the GOP the tar on Trump?
Trump is just Trump, same as ever. He has always been only about himself.
Being a New Yorker, he considers the GOP just a line among a few dozen others on the NY state ballot, probably has no idea it isn't like that elsewhere in the country.
I think Trump is actually pretty naive about America generally, probably the worst in either field. Donald Trump's life is all about excluding the 99% entirely.
I think Trump is actually pretty naive about America generally, probably the worst in either field. Donald Trump's life is all about excluding the 99% entirely.
Talking like a Democrat there, Hoss!
The GOP is a failed ideological party. I say this as a former Republican.
Most party supporters kind of know this. Why? 8 years of Clinton prosperity in contrast to what went on in the Bush 8 years showed - at least subliminally - many Republicans probably had their political "faith" shaken by what happened.
Of course these very same GOP members they have been saying all these talking points for years and are stuck in the faith but deep down inside they view their ideology like a failed religion. Sort of how pagans must have felt in the late Roman empire. They still sacrificed at the altar out of habit and tradition but deep down inside they know it is an empty faith.
The GOP is a failed ideological party. I say this as a former Republican.
They're going the way of the Whigs. The Whigs cucked themselves to the democrats, who wanted cheap labor, and the political advantage. They made a habit of betraying Whig voters, and Whig voters found a new party. That's how the GOP rose, and that why it is falling now. It has ignored the lessons of history, and is now being damned to repeat history. Whatever else; it is nice to see the suffering of RINO's and cuckservatives.
hey're going the way of the Whigs. The Whigs cucked themselves to the democrats, who wanted cheap labor, and the political advantage. They made a habit of betraying Whig voters, and Whig voters found a new party. That's how the GOP rose, and that why it is falling now. It has ignored the lessons of history, and is now being damned to repeat history. Whatever else; it is nice to see the suffering of RINO's and cuckservatives.
Good observation but I would say the GOP died as a party when the Great Depression happened.
The American people of that time blamed the Republicans both for Prohibition and for the Great Depression. By the early 20th century the two party system was cemented into place. That one called itself Democratic and Republican was just an identifier of one of the two parties. So even though the GOP died, it lived on as being the "other" party on the ballot as part of our two party system.
After WW2, the GOP won again by being Democrat light with Eisenhower, but lost big time again. The racial politics of the south allowed Nixon to steal white Dixiecrat votes and Reagan continued that via Reagan Democrats but that is about it. The GOP kind of clawed itself back but it won the Congress via gerrymandering - Less people voted for Republicans over all than Democrats.
The Republicans still sound like it's a party arguing over things I see in 1970s reruns of Archie Bunker. It is like they got fixated on issues that were all the rage in the 1970s and like some crazy homeless person just keeps repeating the same argument they had with someone over 40 years ago and continue arguing with this imaginary person while they collect cans.
It is 2014 and the Republican talk radio just sounds like it is arguing some right vs left issue from a 1970s Archie Bunker episode.
