Working GOP nominee real estate mogul Donald Trump over in the NBC debate Oct. 26, Hillary Clinton proved she’s more than up to the task of dominating Trump on the national debate stage. If Trump performs as poorly Oct. 9, the election’s all but over, with independent voters having no choice but to hold their noses and vote for Hillary. Trump’s managed to get through 11 Republican debates because of multiple players on stage, sometimes as many as 16. When Trump faced Hillary one-on-one she exposed his weakness as a candidate, less than a year-and-a-half into a political career. For Trump’s critics, especially in the GOP, hoping he would have said this-or-that, forget about it. With Hillary’s nearly fifty-year career in some form of politics, experience does count in terms to speaking on the issues. Her well-rehearsed lines in the debate made Trump look disorganized and chaotic.
Hillary’s strategy of calling Trump “unhinged” resonates with voters, too worried about rocking the boat to trust a neophyte, as Hillary likes to say, with the “nuclear codes.” When you consider all Hillary’s bad decisions as Secretary of State, including toppling Libya strongman Col. Muammar Gaddafi, not to mention her email scandal, you’d think Trump would have the edge. But after the Oct. 26 debate, voters saw firsthand on national TV Trump get testy, especially after hammering him on his taxes, sexist comments and the so-called “birther” controversy. Putting Trump on his heels, Hillary had Trump exactly where she wanted him: On the defensive, counter-punching. Her strategy at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia worked brilliantly, pitting Trump against Gold Star family member Khizr Khan, using diversionary tactics to put Trump into the hot seat.
Now the Hillary campaign pushes another nonsensical diversion, snaring Trump in another trap: Roping former Miss. Universe Alica Machado into her campaign, Hillary proved she can keeping hitting Trump below the belt. Dredging up Machado’s past dealings with Trump more than 20 years ago to prove he’s a misogynist continues Hillary’s campaign narrative: Make outrageous accusations, like she did in the debate, and watch Trump react defensively. Whatever Trump’s past dealing with Machado, they have no place in the current campaign, other than distracting voters from the real issues. Finding women with an ax to grind with Trump helps Hillary develop her campaign narrative that he’s a racist, misogynist and business failure. When you look at Trump’s iconic success, it proves that any political hack can turn reality on its head, promoting falsehoods and lies.
Hillary’s use of Machado prompted Trump to Tweet about her sordid past, falling into Hillary’s trap. “I mean, his latest Twitter meltdown is unhinged, even for him, it proves, yet again, that he is temperamentally unfit to be president and commander in chief,” said Hillary, once again, using inconsequential events to prove her fictional campaign narrative. When you consider that NBC’s Lester Holt focused only on Hillary’s extraneous campaign charges against Trump, involving his taxes, the “birther” issue and past statement toward women, ignoring completely real questions about Hillary’s foreign policy or dealings with the Clinton foundation, it shows how the media colludes with the Hillary campaign. Trump’s inability to stop reacting to Hillary’s provocations, on or off the debate stage, leaves him vulnerable heading into the Oct. 9 debate in St. Louis.
After the DNC convention, the media never questioned that Khzir Khan was a Hillary operative looking to discredit Trump. Now Machado emerges as the latest nonsense to prove Trump’s contempt for women. Trump’s going to have to do much more than call Clinton “Crooked Hillary.” Trump’s going to have to itemize clearly Hillary’s lies and failures, much like he does in his campaign speeches. If Trump lets Hillary distract him with her own attacks in the next debate, the wheels will fall off his campaign. Getting snared in Hillary latest traps, especially with Machado, Trump goes down the wrong rabbit hole. Trump’s got the uphill battle of fighting the media, almost all reporting negative stories about his campaign. Broadcasting and printing stories about Machado proves it’s a repeat of Khizr Khan’s nonsense at the Democratic National Convention.
Whether admitted to or not by the Trump campaign, Hillary’s been beating him badly in the “infowars,” using one diversion after another to keep the focus on Trump’s temperament and suitability for the White House. Keeping him overreacting in the debate only reinforces Hillary’s campaign narrative that Trump’s a misogynist, racist and too unstable for the White House. Trump’s main disadvantage at this point is that Hillary’s a skilled propagandist, honed from nearly 50 years in public service, especially living through the media siege against her husband’s, former President Bill Clinton, affair and eventual impeachment back in 1999. Voters should pay attention to how the Clintons left the White House broke in 2001, yet boast today a net worth of over $100 million. If voters, as Trump says, follow the money, they won’t be distracted by nonsense like Khizr Khan or Alicia Machado.
