How Do You Debate Trump?

John Cassidy – The New Yorker

I don’t know about you, but I’m grateful to Donald Trump for one thing. He’s made the first official Republican Presidential debate, which will take place on Thursday night, at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena, a heck of a lot more interesting than it would have been had he decided to sit out the 2016 race. Rarely, if ever, has a debate this early in the primary process created such keen anticipation.

What makes this debate different is that Trump… wjo is boasting a double-digit lead over his closest rivals, will be standing center stage, with Jeb Bush on one side of him and Scott Walker on the other. Questions abound. How combative will he be? Will any of the others try to take him down? And with so many candidates vying for attention, what tack will the moderators—Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly, and Chris Wallace, all of Fox News—take? ….

The debate will last two hours. Since each candidate will be allotted roughly equal time, the moderators won’t get many chances to interrogate Trump. If they confine their questions to his favorite subjects—immigration and the incompetence of career politicians—he will probably sail through.

Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Bluffton, S.C. on July 21, 2015. (AP)

It’s Not Just Donald Trump: What Scares Republican Leadership Ahead of Their Party’s First Debate

Tim Alberta – The National Journal

…there’s that old saying about the best-laid plans: On the eve of the first debate of the 2016 cycle, GOP leaders are excited—and nervous—to see whether their reforms yield a better product for the viewer and for the party itself.

Republican officials know their efforts, aimed at protecting the party brand and helping their eventual nominee, won’t matter much once the bright lights flick on Thursday night here inside Quicken Loans Arena. They never anticipated Donald Trump standing center stage at the first debate, of course, and there is some palpable trepidation about his capacity for hurting the party with his often-inflammatory rhetoric.

But more concerning to some RNC members gathered here are the logistical issues with hosting Thursday’s twin debates. The first, at 5 p.m., features the seven Republicans who failed to qualify for the 9 p.m. main event—and is closed to audience members, projecting an eerie feeling akin to candidates speaking in front of an empty basketball arena. There are deeper concerns still about the second debate and whether putting 10 candidates on stage together will lead to anything but pandemonium.

Presidential contender Donald Trump poses for the media during the third day of the Women’s British Open golf championship on the Turnberry golf course in Scotland, Aug. 1, 2015. (AP)

You Can Thank Fox News for the Rise of Donald Trump

Perma Levy – Mother Jones

It’s no secret that Fox News both boosts the GOP and wields significant influence over the party—the so-called Fox News Effect….

But the network, where many Republican voters get most of their news, is also partly responsible for setting the party’s agenda and boosting its major players, including Trump. And by helping Trump maneuver to the front of the GOP pack and putting him in the spotlight Thursday night, Fox may be doing significant damage to the party it has long favored….

The RNC has voiced support for how Fox News has organized the first debate, but the setup could inadvertently highlight the party’s weaknesses. Making Trump the face of the party Thursday night might hurt the GOP “if only because of his toxic effect on Latinos,” a critical voting block in several swing states, says Bartlett  [a former Reagan administration official]. Trump alienated many Latinos when he suggested undocumented immigrants from Mexico are “rapists.”