The Donald give up some free air time, especially this close to the Iowa caucuses?

I doubt it. Although he says he's going to attend some function for veteran's groups instead of the 'debate'.

Just the opportunity to spar with Megyn Kelly might get him onstage. Unless he's afraid of looking foolish.

Say what you want about Trump, the guy is a master of publicity.

Less than a week out from Iowa and he has the political world focused squarely on him with this stunt. Every competitor of his had to stop what they were doing and jump on Fox last night to talk about him. And if he does decide to go to the debate, everyone will tune in to see what he has to say and to watch him face off against Megyn Kelly. If he doesn't go to the debate, he's the proverbial elephant in the room who everyone is going to talk about. 

If I was advising Trump, I would tell him to go because I don't think he wants to be in a position where he can't directly respond to whatever the other candidates say about him in an open forum.

That said, if nothing else, Trump has shown how to run a campaign in an age of oversaturated media and an elongated campaign season. 

Goose wrote:

The cult of personality of Trumpism demands constant conflict.
That's all there is to his movement.
So, he's gonna pick fights.

Agreed to a point. I think on the surface, there is a need for constant conflict. But I also think there is a deeper strategy behind it. 

The one thing I incorrectly assumed about the Trump campaign when it first began was that Trump was essentially going to use the 2016 race as springboard to promoting his personal brand. Basically, spend a few months in the camapaign, drop out, and bring back the 'New and Improved Apprentice' where washed up politicians fight to become the mayor of some small backwater Louisiana town.

But Trump has shown he is in it to win. And he's doing the work. For the last 4 to 5 months, he's been on TV for interviews from 7:00 a.m. and wrapping up campaign rallies at 10-10:30 almost every night. And while he pretty much makes the same speech on a daily basis, he does seem to remain energetic and let's face it, that's gotta be a tough slog for anyone.

I could never ever ever cast a vote for Donald Trump under any circumstances, and I still cannot believe he will be the nominee. But he's come farther than anyone would have thought he would and I think he's been far more strategic with his campaign than most give him credit for.
 

Still saying he is "bowing out" of the debate. Real surprise IF he doesn't show, but much of what he does is a calculation to garner coverage. Obviously from his lead, he DOESN'T need to be there. Here is the question, IF he can't stand up to Megan what is that saying of his ability to be a diplomat on the world stage. I think we likely already know the answer to that one. 

 

Last edited by tennyson (1/27/2016 9:08 am)