How to Handle Donald Trump’s Bullying

Dana Mibank – The Washington Post

Republican candidates ahead of their second debate are flummoxed about how to deal with the perpetual insult machine that is Donald Trump: Most ignore him in hopes he will go away, while a few lash out at him. Yet he keeps rising in the polls. Of course he does — because his opponents are following the wrong script. They treat him as if he were a conventional candidate, and not the schoolyard bully he has been acting like….

His competitors would do better going to StopBullying.gov, the Web site for a public-service campaign run by the Department of Health and Human Services….

StopBullying.gov helps us understand why the initial strategy of Jeb Bush and others to ignore Trump’s taunts was a failure: “Not saying anything could make it worse for everyone. The candidate who is bullying will think it is ok to keep treating others that way.” It also explains the folly in the strategy of those such as Jindal who answer Trump’s abuse in kind — the political equivalent of punching the bully in the face: “Remind candidates to only intervene if it feels safe to do so,” because fighting back “could get the candidate hurt.”

Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush pauses for applause while speaking at a town hall meeting in Salem, N.H., Sept. 10, 2015. (AP)

The Art of the Donald

Jay Cost – The Weekly Standard

Most candidates run to advance ideas, principles, and positions on issues. But not Trump. His campaign is about Trump. Full stop. Trump’s speeches are extemporaneous, so he talks about whatever comes into his mind. And more often than not, the subject he is most interested in is himself, particularly how well his campaign is doing….

Trump, meanwhile, is arrayed against a bunch of wimps. Jeb Bush is a “low-energy person.” Nobody else in the Republican field can win—as Trump does on a regular basis…. Issues feature in this candidacy only indirectly….

So, why is this working? Perhaps the better question is: Why shouldn’t it be working?

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump makes his way through the crowd after addressing a Tea Party rally against the Iran nuclear deal at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Sept. 9, 2015. (Reuters)

After all, Trump’s pitch has worked for him for decades. Plenty of people made a mint during the Reagan boom, but only Trump turned his wealth into a personal brand—and he could do it because he is a character. He somehow manages to be simultaneously a man of the people and larger than life. He’s funny, witty, and disarming. Best of all, he seems to be hosting a party to which everyone is invited.

Could the GOP Unite Behind Ben Carson to Beat Donald Trump?

John Cassidy – The New Yorker

This is getting interesting.

On Tuesday, the day before the second televised G.O.P. debate, a new poll, carried out for the New York Times and CBS News, showed Ben Carson, the former neurosurgeon, gaining strongly on Donald Trump among Republican voters. This is the latest in a series of surveys that has shown Carson moving up, but the previous surveys still had Trump ahead by double digits. In this one, Trump’s lead was down to just four points, which isn’t even statistically significant….

At this stage, anyway, the polling data suggests that Carson is the only electorally viable alternative to Trump in the G.O.P. primary. In the new survey, as in a number of previous ones, all of the candidates except Trump and Carson scored in the single figures.

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson delivers a speech to supporters on Aug. 18, 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona. (AP)

Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee, and Marco Rubio each got six per cent. Ted Cruz got five per cent. Fiorina got four per cent. The rest of the pack got three per cent or less.

Backers of more orthodox Republican politicians will no doubt be hoping that these candidates do well in Wednesday’s debate and subsequently pick themselves up off the floor. But how long can the party hierarchy and its financial backers afford to wait?With Trump parading around the country, saying C.E.O. pay levels are disgraceful and promising to abolish some tax breaks enjoyed by the rich, some of his fellow plutocrats are already eager to take him down.

Republican presidential candidates from left, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Scott Walker, Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and John Kasich take the stage for the first Republican presidential debate at the Quicken Loans Arena on Aug. 6, 2015 (AP)