Commentary
Trump supporters are feeling better about his decision not to participate in the first Republican debate, even though it’s because of his showing in those demandable polls.
He didn’t participate in the first Republican debate, but has made recent appearances with unlikely moderators that gives him exposure to broader audiences.
Surprisingly, Trump sat for an interview with Megyn Kelly, with whom he had an on-air feud in 2015-2016. Aired Thursday on Sirius XM’s “The Megyn Kelly Show.” It was a typical excellent back-and-forth between the pair, reminding us that our incumbent president simply could not have survived.
Kelly, who has since said the feud is now “all under the bridge,” didn’t allow the conversation to get into a rehash over the earlier dust-up.
In the first 2016 Republican debate, held in the summer of 2015, Kelly, one of the moderators, questioned Trump’s treatment of women. Trump bitterly attacked her afterward, casting her as a lightweight.
She questioned him on Covid, the lockdowns, Warp Speed, and Dr. Fauci, during which he denied that he alone elevated Fauci to celebrity status. Conceding that he supported the lockdowns “based on the best possible advice I received at the time, in hindsight, it’s clear, that the lockdowns caused more harm than they helped.”
Commenting on Trump’s performance during Covid, Steven Green of PJ Media believes, and I agree, “It’s unfair to judge Trump for the initial response to a virus nobody understood.” I would add that it was former Vice President Pence, who ably managed the White House response to Covid.
It was Kelly’s question, “Can a man become a woman?” that caused some eyes to roll because he didn’t emphatically respond, “NO.” His response in the end, however, was “No, I would say I’ll continue my stance on that.”
Trump had to remind Kelly about his stance against gender transformation in the military and his opposition to introducing it to young children.
And on Meet the Press
After watching Kristen Welker’s debut as host of NBC’s Meet the Press, I find that I cannot, with the limited space I have, provide you with a thorough review of the questions asked and the responses of the former president. I encourage you to find the interview on the Internet in video or transcript form.
I will only say that Welker’s debut was highlighted by a series of rapid-fire questions with Trump’s answers interrupted over and over. While sitting in the front row of the White House press briefings, I never saw Welker attack Jen Psaki or Karine Jean-Pierre in this manner.
Oddly enough, early responses to the interview revealed many on the media left are criticizing her mainly for giving Trump a platform.
There’s More
You may recall that I was not impressed with any of the candidates participating in the debate. In my opinion, former President Trump would have caused several of them to bow out had he participated.
I usually listen closely to Karl Rove, former advisor to President George W. Bush, now associated with the political action committee American Crossroads, because he does his homework. However, in his September 14, 2023 op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, “Trump Lost the Debate by Not Showing Up,” he reported that in a next day poll (Washington Post/Ipsos), “every candidate improved – except for the front runner.”
But in Lauren Irwin’s September 15, 2023 piece in The Hill, “Fox News survey finds Trump widening his lead in GOP race,” she notes “Despite not participating in the August GOP debate hosted by Fox News, Trump’s support has strengthened, and his margin as the Republican front-runner has increased.”
The survey found that 60 percent of Republican primary voters support Trump, up from 53 percent in Fox’s survey conducted before the August debate.
Interestingly, some of Trump’s biggest gains come from women (plus 10), voters under age 45 (plus 9), white evangelicals (plus 8) and white men without a college degree (plus 8).
The Fox poll, conducted nationwide between September 9 and 12, 2023, is done under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) with registered voters.
The Deep State Lives
Further evidence that the Deep State lives in the Washington establishment was revealed in a memo with this long title: It’s Time For The Media To Do More To Scrutinize House Republications’ Demonstrably False Claims That They’re Basing Impeachment Stunt On.
Here’s the kicker. The memo didn’t come from the White House communications office. It came from the White House Legal Counsel’s Office, and was written by Ian Sams, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor, as if the media isn’t already using the Democrat talking points.
I found it hypocritical that Sams stated that “Impeachment is grave, rare, and historic.” They didn’t give that a thought during two impeachments of Trump.
Quotations by a dozen Republican representatives were included.
May God continue to bless the United States of America
