Trump’s Terrible Weekend
Perhaps the most surprising thing about the second presidential debate Sunday night is that it actually had some substance and illustrated policy differences.
But, of course, that may have been overwhelmed by everything that led up to the debate. I’m referring, of course, to the release of the tape that revealed Donald Trump talking about women’s body parts and what he likes to do with them.
I don’t have to go into detail about that because unless you’ve been under a rock this past weekend, you’ve heard all about it. And naturally — because that tape made headlines across our great country — one of the first questions at Sunday’s debate was about it.
Trump called his comments “locker room talk.” And, of course, he couldn’t resist — didn’t want to resist — referring to Bill Clinton’s sexual escapades decades ago — and to Bill’s wife Hillary — the Clinton who’s actually running for president — for coming to Bill’s defense.
And, yes, Trump couldn’t help himself — he just had to say that if he’s elected president, he’d instruct his attorney general to look into Hillary’s alleged wrong-doings – with the goal, of course, of putting her in jail. It’s not often in our history of presidential campaigns that one candidate has threatened to jail another, but this campaign has created many “never-before” occurrences.
His stupid talk about that aside, Trump actually made sense when he discussed tax policy — though he reverted to form when he had to talk about foreign policy, something he knows nothing about.
For her part, Hillary remained cool and calm — and even passed up or missed some opportunities to come after Trump.
Neither candidate likely made any new “converts” Sunday night, but both delighted their rabid bases. Trump’s attacks against both Bill and Hillary thrilled those Trump backers who just flat-out hate the Clintons. Finally, those supporters have found “the man” who could tell a nationwide audience what they’ve thought for years.
And Hillary’s remarks that Trump is “unfit” for the presidency undoubtedly warmed the cockles of her supporters’ hearts.
Overall, the debate likely was a wash for both candidates, and that’s good news for Hillary because she has a solid lead in virtually every nationwide poll and in the polls of most key battleground states.
But Trump’s performance — after a truly disastrous weekend that found him losing the support of many Republican office-holders — may have helped stemmed the bleeding.