FOX Didn’t Do It To Themselves. Trump Did It To Them

Bill Quick
January 27, 2016

FOX Walks Into a Trap


He just made everybody who might criticize him for snubbing the debate look like howling hypocrites. And made himself look like a wronged martyr to everybody else on top of it.

Add to this that quite a few Americans have been seriously disillusioned by FOX over the past several years with their limp-wristed defenses and excuses for the GOPe’s consistent refusal to keep their campaign promises to fight Obama. So far, it’s been limited to gut feelings that maybe they’re not as much in the fight as we thought they were, but now they just handed out the proof. They’ve picked sides, and it ain’t the side of people fed up with being lied to.

Is Trump’s win here deserved? It doesn’t matter! They just handed him a “yuuuge” victory, right there, and he didn’t have to lift a bloody finger. The situation went from “no effect” to “let’s hand Trump the nomination” with one statement. Either they’re dumb or they’re doing it on purpose.

Another note that we hadn’t considered since we’re firmly on the conservative side, but Scott Adams isn’t:

Now let’s say you are Donald Trump, the scariest Republican that any Democrat has seen in ages. What is the one best thing he can do to separate himself from the Republican machine and show that he can be a deal-maker for everyone? Answer: Punch FOX News in the mouth. Right in front of you.

Democrats are watching. Trump is framing himself as an enemy of their enemy. (Democrats hate FOX News.)

Boom. Head shot.

Thanks to FOX’s inability to keep their yaps shut, they’ve confirmed the suspicions of every conservative who has ever found himself wondering whether they were really on his side AND made a bunch of Democrats on the fence think that he can’t be all that bad if the Demon FOX hates him too.

Unless conservatism ups its game, it’s all over at this point.

The Emperor doesn’t let his own biases blind him, which is always a good thing, and generally leads to a much better grasp of reality than those who operate otherwise.

I would add one possible further layer: I don’t think FOX “handed it to Trump with their own screw up.” I think Trump deliberately goaded them into blowing themselves up.

Keep in mind that Trump started this whole thing. I believe it’s a mistake to forget who almost invariably turns out to be the prime actor in these situations.

BTW, here’s a prediction. Trump is scheduled to appear on O’Reilly tonight. It will be the most watched Factor ever. Which will only serve to underline the leverage Trump is operating from here.

I think the polls after this debate will determine who out foxed who.
To me I think he is making a big mistake. If he cant handle her, how will he handle Putin and others that need handling.
It makes no difference whether Fox is trying to promote Kelly or not, that's not the issue.

My word, are there folks who still think this dynamic has anything to do with Kelly other than Trump using her as a tool?

I don't see this as a positive for Trump. He had a lot of support from people who liked his tough guy talk and slogan of Making America Great Again. In the last few days he has expressed his ability to get along with Pelosi, Reid and Schumer; plus dropped out of the debate. Additionally he has been able to mount nothing but personal attacks against Cruz. Most of the folks supporting him are doing it out of frustration with the establishment. For him to say he can make deals with them puts him in the same class as Boner, Ryan, McConnell et.al. He was my second choice but has just dropped off my radar. Listening to various talk shows a multitude of people are feeling the same. No win for him here.

I think everybody is reading too much into it.

Trump has been appearing before very large crowds on a regular basis for a couple of months.

When he wants to speak to a crowd he just shows up and there the crowd is.

This "debate" crap has gotten very old and it never was very good. It's just reality TV that the cable networks makes millions of dollars on.

Trump is tired of the debate nonsense, anyway. He didn't want to do another one in the first place, and then FOX started playing games and laying down the law about how it was going to be and Trump just said, "fuggit".

Now, everybody is trying to turn it into a "thing".

Trump just doesn't givva chit about being on another lame ass FOX debate program.

If he wants to have a debate, he'll arrange one himself. He doesn't need the FOX knotheads to do it.

He is keeping himself as THE topic of conversation. He knows how to play the promotion game leagues beyond any politician.

This ^^^^
The more I watch Trump stratagize and play the media like a master violinist with a Stradivarius in hand the more I want him as President. If he wins in Iowa and New Hampshire then I would expect him to not mention his Republican competition again and turn to tearing down the Democrats. He needs to be careful though this stretch to not alienate Cruze's and the rest's supporters who he will need to go to the polls in November.

This time, Trump chose to direct his tough guy talk to Fox news.

According to how things played out today, coupled with Trump being the center of attention all day for free, once again, I don't think he could have scripted a more rewarding win.

The only people truly panicking now are Fox News, their co-conspirators and Cruz.

Precisely.

Fox Force Five!

GG

I love hearing "This will be his downfall."

Gets kinda old after 6 months!


Travis

Putin may be a tough guy but Kelly was rude and disrespectful to Trump, she got what she deserved in Trump's remarks. None of the other moderators treated Trump like she did.

The whole GD thing is getting old. Real old!

Frankly, if we all have to live with the BS for the next 4-8 years it will make us all old and damn near kill most of us.

My friend, I will be just fine, because, long ago I realized that the election process in this Country is broken beyond repair, and the only true way to reset this country is to get bloody

No some of us just think that this proves Trump is a world class arse.

Bingo!

This is what it is:

http://www.dangerandplay.com/2016/01/26/why-donald-trump-wont-show-up-to-the-foxnews-debate/

Before Donald Trump ran for office, the Republican debates were snooze fests. A few people who were bored watched them.

Because of Donald Trump the GOP debates have drawn huge crowds. The latest debate had 13.5 million viewers, a record number.

Those millions of people watch the debate for one reason – Trump.

No one cares about crusty Cruz, sweaty Rubio, or sleepy-eye Jeb Bush.

When Trump shows up, his competitors have a chance to impression millions of people who otherwise wouldn’t care about them.

Trump has built up the personal brands of parasites and losers. He’s given them enough corporate welfare.

Trump did the last debates to prove a point – that he can win them.

Trump has proven his point. He won every debate.

He has nothing to gain by giving ratings to dishonest FoxNews and to share his millions of fans with the other candidates.

If hiLIARy gets the WH, we won't want to be around for 4-8 years.

It's pretty evident he doesn't want to be ANYWHERE that would require him to answer questions.

Nor do his supporters.

He is making a mistake in sucking up to the Democrats.

You need to get the nomination before you start doing that.

Sure it's a positive, a big one.

We're talking about him, everyone is talking about him. In his words, "It's HUGE"...

Louisiana master politician, Huey P. Long, was oft quoted as saying he didn't care what they said about him as long as they spelled his name right...

Infamous is real close to famous...

And, who has gotten more free publicity/notoriety, good and bad, than The Donald...

It's all a game and he is THE game master, no doubt about that...

Will he win, will he be a good president? Those are two entirely different questions...

Only time will tell.

DF

If Trump can manhandle FOX news like this, just imagine how he'll deal with Democrats when pushing his agenda. They don't stand a chance.


Some people can't see the positives right in front of their face.

I respectfully disagree. The Iowa folks interviewed on the news shows today (most at some trade show) did not favor Trump's pull out. All interviewed but 1 said big mistake and a few said it definitely effected their decision in a negative way for Trump.

The Donald is going to lose Iowa.

This is a point that's often being overlooked. Trump just scored a lot of votes in the general election if he's the nominee from dems that hate FOX news but don't like Hillary Clinton. They're loving this and Trump made huge crossover gains from this.

Anyone that thinks Trump's afraid of Megan Kelly is completely missing the point. Trump doesn't need another debate. What are we up to, about 20 by now? They've been run into the ground and he gains nothing from another one. He's gained hugely from thumbing his nose at FOX. I'm sitting in the Atlanta airport right now & CNN's on the TV's, it's all Trump. He can't get that kind of publicity from another debate. Megan Kelly is irrelevant, she just got played.

The news media doesn't know what to do with Trump, he's not playing by the typical politician rule book and they can't handle it. He's showing himself to be very shrewd at manipulating them. He's owning them right now.

Who selected the people who were shown on the news show?

I can't stop laughing at Fox.

------

Hmmmm, interesting. The exit polls suggest only 1 out of 4 Trump voters could possibly change their minds on caucus day.

But, you could be right. Trump's only up 13 points in Iowa with 5 more days to go.

Bingo.

I thought it was closer to 40% said they would or could change their minds.

You say that like it's a bad thing

I'm tired of non-arse republicans, that's how the Dems have fundamentally transformed the U.S.A. over the last quarter century. I don't know what we'll get from Trump but I do know what'll happen if we elect someone like Jeb Bush, more creeping socialism and even further destruction of the American way of life. Something has to be done to stop it, Trump's an unknown but I'll take that chance over the known results of more RNC candidates.

Thinking the smartest thing Trump could do at this point is to show up and not say another word about all of this mess.

And where is any news of his alternative event?

Wonder if Vegas has a line on the show or no-show?

Of all voters of the combined candidates. 1 out of 4 of Trump confirmed voters, though.

But, these were pre-debate blow off numbers, David.

========

Trump wants to wait until around noon tomorrow to announce as the place where it's going to be held has room for only 25 thousand people.

So he expects 25k people at HIS event?? That really will make this interesting.

Auditorium at Drake University. That could be the student body. Smart!!

Thanks!!

What better way for Trump to be on every voters mind than him publicly butt F U C K I N G Fox and beating them at their own game

I was being a smart ass as to waiting till noon so to keep the numbers from passing the 25K mark.

I have no f'in idea what he has planned, if anything, at this juncture.


I'm hoping he puts up a huge tent or two on the grounds of where the debate is being held.

Today he scored a bunch of Hawkeye football players and the Iowa student body to caucus for him on Monday.

HA! No it's Drake University, which is brilliant. Gonna' be cold so all the entire student body has to do is walk right over.

He should throw a keg party.

If Trump does a live rally in support of wounded warriors opposite the debate with a standing room only crowd in a stadium it will crush the rest of the field and Fox will have been officially neutered. Every other news outlet will pile in and it will be wall to wall Trump. Even Fox will have to cover it and probably live in a break of their own debate. By the Sunday it could be over and we're just waiting for the fat lady to sing to make it official. Of course Trump could botch it and he'd be in for tough times but having watched him for months my money is on Trump. I didn't start as a Trump supporter but he's earned my respect and unless something changes the picture dramatically he's got my vote in Florida.

Yeah...can you believe it?

Some still don't get it.

BOO HOOO!!!!

Bull-[bleep] by Rick Mulhern, on Flickr

Trump has had some winning soundbites in some of those six debates but he has lost every one of them on substance to much better debaters.

The debates with Trump started off with about 25 million FOX viewers and has dropped ever since. The last FOX debate was was down to 11 million barely beating the NBC Democrat debate with over 10 million. Viewers were getting tired of nothing but soundbites from Trump.

We will see tomorrow night the numbers for a FOX debate without Thump.

I guess that's why he's been leading in the polls for 6 months.

Not by being a great debater...

Yeah, well,...whatever he's doing it's working.

These things they call debates these days just don't mean chit. That's why being a good debater and $3.00 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

As I said in another post/thread, what's everyone talking about? Trump
Even the dem candidates are talking about him due to his not being on the debate.
Without him at the debate, the candidates that are should be laying out their message and plans for why they should get the nomination. What they'll end up doing is talking about will be Trump.
Actually, without Trump at debate, who is going to watch?

Didn't Reagan skip the final debate as well?

Yes and lost Iowa and never missed another debated and cited missing the debate cost him winning

Cost him winning what?


He won the nomination and the election


Honestly I don't understand why a state like Iowa hols so much clout anyway

so Trump says he doesn't want to debate on Fox

and by the end of the day Ted Cruz and his super pac are begging Trump for a debate

*begging*

first they started out by trying to shame him ....using Monty Python clips - way to resonate with the conservative voter there Ted

and then a bribe of 1.5 million dollars


Ted isn't coming off desperate at all.

Go to your debate Ted - your supporters say you're a master debater and you'll be the alpha dog center stage.

Begging Donald Trump for an audience only makes Rubio stronger.

As was O'Reilly begging and lying to Trump in a effort to get him to reconsider and debate.

And, as predicted yesterday, Rubio is now on all the talk shows saying his focus tonight will be on Cruz's lying and pandering for votes.

I think Cruz will be the main target tonight and the attacks, righteous or not, will hurt him in Iowa,NH and SC. I also believe, after hearing Baier last night stating he had transcripts of all the candidate's prior debate responses and that they were going to essentially cross-examine the candidates on those responses,that Fox will now go after their 2nd target Cruz in a effort to bring Rubio and Bush closer to the fore front.

I wonder what fox will have the three special guests doing with Trump there?

Special guests and the rest of the field will be out for Cruz's blood ! Trump has really put the screw to Ted.

Exactly. No question.. And I was reminded yesterday from another poster that Ronald Reagan blew off the last IA debate back in 1980 and went on the nearly sweep the table clean..

I can't stand to watch The Great Bloviator so I missed the Trump segment.. But if he gave the brush-off to TGB & FOX then, IMHO, he came out WAY on top..

I think the debates are just fluff and I have not watched one. So, I certainly can see why someone would not want to participate in them. But, Trump is just being petty with his attitude about this particular one. It doesn't seem very Presidential to me. The longer he goes on running his mouth, the more he seems like he is trying to be a pop culture icon rather than the leader of the free world. It's like Mark Burnett is his campaign manager. I would not be surprised to learn down the road that he is making a biography of the campaign for prime time.

Damn right!!! And he won't have to answer silly questions about things he's said in the past...he'll just organize his own debate & tell everybody "It's gonna be great" and the lemmings crowd will cheer....

How dare anybody treat him unfairly by asking questions he has no good answer for...

I agree with the OP

Nah...Trump's not that complicated. He just does what he wants, when he wants.

Trump's ardent supporters have proven to be easily led, so Trump can basically do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, and his numbers will hold steady or even rise. His numbers will rise after this fiasco tonight as well IMO.

There is an old saying for what we are witnessing. "Throwing the baby out with the bath water.".

No point in watching the debate.
None of them are going to win anything and there all owned, so why listen.
But ill watch Trump at his shindig tonight.
dave

Might be a fiasco for the debaters.
Total waist of time.

dave

You guys don't get it. Debates are not debates anymore, and have not been for a few election cycles. They do not fit the current needs of the electorate.

They are "reality" TV shows designed to manipulate audience support for the MSM's choice while simultaneously tearing down whoever is the most likely Repub candidate.

Stop being stupid. The only ones who need to go to "debates" in this day and age are the ones running from way behind, hoping for free air time.

For example, Cruz will not "win the debate" tonight, though everyone in the country knows that he would win any actual debate with any candidate. It is his specialty. But it will be "rigged" in a way to make him look unappetizing and stupid, while exalting someone truly dimwitted like Bush.

If that is what you wanted Trump to get involved with yet again, after having done it over and over already--well, that would be the definition of insanity I suppose. And is why Repubs lose elections consistently. Trump may not be presidential, but he knows how to play the game well.

they get it

but it doesn't help Cruz to admit it

Oh, we completely get it. Any game would be different if the team that was ahead was to call it over. We'll see if the fans will let it stand as a win very shortly.

Exactly. Trump knows this. It's all theatre.

If you "need' these debates to choose a candidate, you're a dope.

If Trump were to get into an actual debate with anybody still in the race (with maybe the exception of Bush) his lack of substance would be glaringly obvious...BUT the crowd still cheers!!!

I'm interested in hearing more about substance coming from debates...this is news to me.

I got to admit...Limbaugh has a good grasp on the entire hub bub..."by not showing up, donald trump owns the event"...

Look at the news...trump this trump that...it's all about trump...masterful manipulation...

Yes he does. And actually part of the fun of this whole Trump mania is the fact our resident kooks, who called Rush a clown and worthless are now quoting him chapter and verse as if he was the Burning Bush himself. Same goes for their adoration for Coulter now.

Man... these Trump threads are really humping. I can barely keep up!


So what's the better Cape Buffalo rifle? The 375 H&H or the 416 Remington?

it would appear that Trump isn't the only one that dominates peoples thoughts around here.

The Coulter crew crack me up...I'm guessing they have no clue how many times Bill Maher has tapped that ass...

Trump shoots a 270 Win.

See, he's a smart man.

Gee...I miss talking about guns...

They've never really talked about guns on this forum. There's not enough people that really know anything about them.

I put the pointy end in first. Is that correct???

Only after you get it out of your shower cap.

...pew..pew..pew..

Since he shoots a 270, he has my vote.

It's about time we have a candidate, that will not be coerced by public pressure to do something he thinks is wrong.

We need a strong leader, not an apologetic fool with one eye on public opinion.

Trump boys caught a bunch of NY flack for their African Safari, killed all sorts of stuff, including elephants.

Need to find out what they were shooting...

DF

Zim photos, not bad...

Donald Jr.



Eric.

Pretty slick move. The comment "if you can't handle the media, how can you handle ISIS?" Kinda BS, media feels they should have some grandiose position in the world.

They're just friggin typists.