Trump Cruising Into Super Tuesday
No matter what he says or what anyone says about him, Donald Trump continues to surge. At the GOP debate last Thursday night, Rubio and Cruz tag-teamed Trump, landing blow after blow, but Donald just kept counterpunching. Coming out of the debate, most pundits declared Rubio the winner, but Trump supporters were just more convinced of their guy’s superiority and inevitability.
That means it’s getting to be desperation time for his opponents. Super Tuesday is coming, and they can’t seem to crack his lead. Sure, he is leading with less than a majority of GOP support, but he’s still winning — 3 out of 4 states at this point. Tuesday may be the last stand. No matter what happens, there is still a chance for either Cruz or Rubio to catch Trump. Even after Tuesday, there are a lot of delegates left hanging out there. But they won’t catch him unless they shift their approach.
For weeks, pundits and GOP insiders have been hoping Rubio would attack Trump directly. Here’s a secret: Trump was hoping for that as well. It fits right into his political strategy. It should be obvious by now, but for some reason, it’s not. Trump understands PR and TV better than any of his opponents. He has, after all, used fame to make himself even more famous long before the Kardashians tried it. Trump telegraphed his strategy years ago, talking about how easy it would be for him to win in the GOP by getting on TV and staying on TV. He talked about getting earned — rather than paid — TV time, and he has. Most recently Trump filled an entire hour of Sean Hannity’s hugely popular evening talk show on Fox. Think about what it would have cost to buy even a handful of commercials during that air time … but Trump got the entire hour for free. Meanwhile, CNN, the network once derisively chided as the Clinton News Network, can’t seem to stop talking about Trump. Which is exactly what Trump predicted. He understands the media, and he understands that there is a significant segment of the electorate that will hang on every disjointed and bewildering statement he makes as long as he stays on TV and says it with a convincing tone. Just think about how much of Trump’s responses to his opponents is about tone. Bush is low energy. Rubio is repetitive. Now, after the Thursday debate, Cruz is shaky and scared. That’s the gospel according to Trump, who delivers each epithet and pronouncement with bone-deep NYC toughness. So far the electorate is eating it up, and Trump has them eating out of his hand. As long as the spotlight and the TV cameras are on him, this will continue. His opponents need to learn this lesson and grab some of that limelight for themselves. They are just about out of time. Roman Temkin is a mobile entrepreneur who hails from NYC.