Friday, July 10, 2015

It is tough to trump Trump

Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb, PhD
Coauthor of: So You Want to Blog

If you missed the NBC Katy Tur interview with Donald Trump click here. Allow yourself some time it runs about 28 minutes but is well worth the watch.

The problem began with whoever picked Tur to do the interview and went down hill from there. When you start out an interview with someone like Donald Trump asking a question like you are talking to a three year old you are already doomed.  

Tur tried to back Trump into a corner over and over again with really silly questions and Trump just chewed her up. Here was a chance to get into the man's head and Tur was more interested in making a score for herself than drawing out Trump. In a battle of egos with Donald Trump most people are going to lose.

It was classic Trump.

Here is a transcript of Trump's comments on Mexico:
“When Mexico (meaning the Mexican Government) sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you (pointing to the audience). They’re not sending you (pointing again). They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems to us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people! But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we’re getting. And it only makes common sense. They’re sending us not the right people. It’s coming from more than Mexico. It’s coming from all over South and Latin America, and it’s coming probably from the Middle East. But we don’t know. Because we have no protection and we have no competence, we don’t know what’s happening. And it’s got to stop and it’s got to stop fast.”

"They’re rapists". This is what the firestorm is all about. Go back and read it again.

The reference here is the people Mexico (the State) sends. The media quickly picked up the statement and implied Trump was referring to all immigrants. That's not what he said.

What has been interesting is the stream of organizations turning and running from the Trump comments. So far all we are getting is a lot of self-righteous comments from business and industry leaders but no serious conversation from these "leaders" about the fact that a porous border and illegal immigration is a problem that affects all Americans. No recognition that a problem really exists.

What is even more interesting is that some of those crying out against Trump are probably exploiting the very people they are purporting to so deeply revere.

It will be interesting to see how far they run when it starts affecting their bottom line.

On several occasions, including the NBC interview, Trump has made the point that the immigration discussion would not even be on the table if were not for his comments. I have not seen or heard a major or minor candidate in either party disagree with that statement So far they all seem to be tap dancing around the immigration issue.

Trump is in the enviable position of being able to openly speak his mind not really pandering to any political party camp and his poling numbers indicate at least so far his message is resonating with the public.

There has been a lot of talk about Trump hurting the Republican Party. The only thing Trump is doing is pointing out how difficult it is for all of the Republican candidates to speak with open candor about the issues that really matter to the people.

As hard as it may be for the media to grasp, most Americans don't really care about how much money Jeb, Marco or Hillary have raised what they are looking for is some one who understands their concerns and can clearly articulate them.

For now trump's pressure on the Republican Party is a good thing simply because he cannot be bought off or bullied away and when you take those two tools away from Republicans they are pretty much helpless.

E-mail Doc at: mailto:dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Please comment below, and be sure to share on Facebook and Twitter. See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos

No comments:

Post a Comment