May 5, 2016

Donald Trump is "fine" with the "low road" if that's the road Hillary wants to take — "I can handle the low road if I have to do it."

I noticed this little dialogue on Bill O'Reilly's show last night:
BILL O'REILLY (HOST): Now, tone, tone. If history is any barometer, the Clinton campaign will go after you through surrogates. MoveOn, these sleazy left-wing websites are going to tear you up. Are you going to respond to that if Hillary Clinton takes the high road and doesn't do any of that?

DONALD TRUMP: Well, I'm going to be able to figure it out. We had 17 people just now and I figured that out and I will be able to figure it out with Hillary. It depends on where she is coming from. If she wants to go the low road, I'm fine with that. And if she wants to go the high road, which probably I would prefer, I would be fine with that.

O'REILLY: But wait. You're fine with the low road? Most people don't want to go on the low road?

TRUMP: No, I can handle the low road if I have to do it. I mean, we've had some low roads over the last few months.

O'REILLY: Really?

TRUMP: I'm fine with it if we have to go that direction. Maybe you haven't noticed.

O'REILLY: You know what? I hope you don't have to go it. I would like to see you and Mrs. Clinton in a spirited campaign about issues without the low road. I know the media likes it. I know they like all that stuff but I don't. I would like to see you, you know, you guys just fight it out over issues.
That was kind of brilliant, now, wasn't it? He's not saying he likes the low road or that he'd choose the low road, just: If she or her people take the low road, they'll be on the low road with him and he knows how to handle it. He had 17 people in the primary, taking whichever roads they were taking on any given day for nearly a year, and he dealt with it. So he's warning the Hillary people: You do not want to take the low road with me. That can't possibly warn Hillary and all her proxies off the low road, but he's staked out his position: It won't faze me — "I'm fine with that" — and you will lose. 

My link goes to Media Matters, which mangles the meaning in its headline: "Trump Tells O'Reilly He's Ready To Take The 'Low Road' Against Hillary Clinton In The General Election/Bill O'Reilly: 'You're Fine With The Low Road? ... I Hope You Don't Have To Go To It.'" They completely omitted the main idea, that he wouldn't choose the low road, but he's prepared to operate on that level if his opponents choose it.

What was so striking about the rhetoric — and I almost don't blame Media Matters for screwing up the interpretation — is that Trump seemed to enjoy saying "low road" and exhibiting his comfort with that place. Also Trump avoided the original question, which specified that Hillary herself would take the high road and those sleazy proxies would do the dirty work. Trump declined to see Hillary standing apart from her surrogates.

82 comments:

Ann Althouse said...

Meade read this post and compared Trump to Jesus.

Laslo Spatula said...

All this talk of roads; didn't we discuss Robert Moses yesterday?

I am Laslo.

David said...

"[Media Matters] completely omitted the main idea, that he wouldn't choose the low road, but he's prepared to operate on that level if his opponents choose it."

What a surprise. Expect to see edited footage on an attack ad near you.

chickelit said...

Trump declined to see Hillary standing apart from her surrogates.

Because he shouldn't.

chickelit said...

I mean, modal verbs are important in the context of the post.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Media Matters twisted the meaning to fit a narrative? hacks.

traditionalguy said...

Trump ain't Jesus. But both similarly lead a movement that scared the establishment that was garnering its money and power from running the Government Temple, with the Roman Empire's help. Both are meddling by promising to restore Nationalism and dump the Globalist Empire guys. And both face opposition from the Purist Essenes who claim they want the same things but hate Jesus and Trump types that they cannot control.





traditionalguy said...

Back to the topic, Trump is producing a WWF match with himself as the white hat good guy.

It's all fake from both sides, but it is at the USA voters level of understanding.

There is even a role for Kasich in Trump World. WWF needs over the top characters like him.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Trump declined to see Hillary standing apart from her surrogates.

And so begins the strangest election of our lifetimes. He will not "play by the rules" or feel constrained by political jargon and tropes. He will "go there" often and with brutal effectiveness. He's about to make Alinky's disciple live by the rules she has foisted on others for her whole career. And his Trump card is the fact his flaws and mistakes and failures are out there in the public record. When you wheel and deal at the high level Trump operates on you're going to amass wins and losses and make enemies.

But then he says, "So what? The people have examined my record and found me acceptable. Now look at my sneaky, secretive, cheating opponent and ask yourself, what is she still hiding?"

She's hiding a LOT. And she can't hide behind surrogates for the next six months!

Meade said...

traditionalguy said...
"Trump ain't Jesus."

Yeah, I know. They said the same thing about Jesus.

Meade said...

Trump ain't Chauncey Gardiner.

cubanbob said...

Clinton is so far down in the gutter she can't even see the high road (as if she even wanted to) and Donnie was never one to distinguish between crass and class. There you have it folks: The Bitch vs The Buffoon. All crass and no class, just the way we love our politics.

tim in vermont said...

Trump is supposed to leave the Maginot Line unguarded. Trump will have to elevate stuff or they will never report it.

shiloh said...

"That was kind of brilliant, now, wasn't it?"

Speaking to the fox news choir aside, no it wasn't.

Damn Althouse, are you falling in love with Trump like you fell in love with Romney & Rubio.

Again, basically he had no discernible opposition ie the Rep "deep bench" in the primary. He is now going against the second best political machine in the history of presidential politics.

And he's gonna have to spend some er a lot of that Trump fortune or he's gonna look like a hypocrite. ok, he already looks like a hypocrite on so many other political issues so it really doesn't matter.

Hillary will have a united GOTV effort, whereas Trump will have incumbent Rep(s) bailing his ship as they already have been doing.

The Cleveland convention will be quite a spectacle er train wreck.

"You can put lipstick on a hog and call it Monique, but it is still a pig!"

YoungHegelian said...

O ye'll tak' the high road, and I'll tak' the low road,
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye,
But me and my true love will never meet again,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.


Apparently, taking the low road in the song means being dead, & thus getting back to Scotland in spirit only.

I hope all the candidates avoid that particular "low road" for the sake of the Republic.

Nonapod said...

Trump is going to say things about Hillary that pretty much any other candidate would never say. He hasn't and won't play by the traditional rule book. On some level this has to terrify the Clinton campaign.

If nothing else, this promises to be entertaining.

shiloh said...

btw, when is Trump gonna release his tax returns or would that go against being politically incorrect?

The whole nation will now be focusing on Trump like a laser beam, whereas Hillary is already an open book.

chickelit said...

Shilho wrote: And he's gonna have to spend some er a lot of that Trump fortune or he's gonna look like a hypocrite. ok, he already looks like a hypocrite on so many other political issues so it really doesn't matter.

We'll see. But I know that I (not a regular TV watcher) will be watching the upcoming interview of Trump by Megyn Kelly. If that gives Trump more "free" publicity, so be it.

JPS said...

shiloh,

"whereas Hillary is already an open book."

Damn it, you owe me a new keyboard and another round of coffee.

Gusty Winds said...

Trump declined to see Hillary standing apart from her surrogates.

It's like how we pretend that there is no coordination between candidates and their supporting Super PACs. On a Super PAC add the candidate just doesn't have to give that stupid, "I'm so and so and I approve of this message".

Will Hillary be asked by anyone to "disavow" anything? We love a good disavowing.

The lowest road that will be taken by Hillary and her supporters, already demonstrated this morning by Rob Reiner on Morning Joe, is that empty accusations of racism and sexism will be thrown around as usual. Just wait till the women on The View get going.

Trump employs women, African-Americans, Hispanics, and has provided thousands of jobs for unionized construction workers. We'll see how it plays.

tim maguire said...

I almost don't blame Media Matters for screwing up the interpretation

"Almost" because, obviously, they did it on purpose.

Trump is something no Democrat has faced before--a fearless campaigner. He's not going to be cowed by the sorts of attacks that beat back Republicans in the past. Hillary's weird missteps in the early anti-Trump ads show that they are feeling their way through new territory. Hopefully, for their sake, there is still something left of Hillary to work with when they finally figure it out. If they finally figure it out.

chickelit said...

The whole nation will now be focusing on Trump like a laser beam, whereas Hillary is already an open book.

Now there is some projection and wishful thinking.

Curious George said...

O'REILLY: "You know what? I hope you don't have to go it. I would like to see you and Mrs. Clinton in a spirited campaign about issues without the low road. I know the media likes it. I know they like all that stuff but I don't. I would like to see you, you know, you guys just fight it out over issues."

What a steaming pile. The last thing the media wants is a "spirited campaign about issues without the low road."

shiloh said...

"interview of Trump by Megyn Kelly."

Again, speaking to the very small, 2/3 million, fox news choir. Although I would guess many fox news addicts have already decided to sit 2016 out, especially older folk who comprise the majority of the choir.

Bob Boyd said...

"Trump is fine with the low road."

"In their focus on Trump’s real-estate tycoon father, the media seem to have missed that the teetotaling Trump’s deepest connection was probably to his strong-willed, religious mother. Born in the stark, wind-swept Hebrides Islands off the western coast of Scotland (the next North Atlantic stop is Iceland), she was one tough cookie. She and her parents were Gaelic speakers, products of a history extending back to the medieval Viking raids. I suddenly realized that that is Trump’s style. He’s not a tribal Highlander, celebrated in Scotland’s long battle for independence from England, but a Viking, slashing, burning, and laughing at the carnage in his wake. Trump takes savage pleasure in winning for its own sake—an attribute that speaks directly to the moment..." - Camille Paglia in her Salon column, recommended by Quaestor in the previous comment thread.

Meade said...

shiloh said...
"btw, when is Trump gonna release his tax returns"

Who cares about tax returns? What about the transcripts of his Wall Street speeches?

tim in vermont said...

For the sake of the Republic,I hope he forces Hillary to answer for her past.

mccullough said...

Trump is better at adjusting than Hillary. This should be an entertaining campaign. That photo of him and the Clintons at his third wedding is priceless.

tim in vermont said...

Shilo enlists in the machine, at least she's honest.

Limited blogger said...

Today's politics require a Trump. Hillary would not be beaten by a text book Republican. Trump will do what it takes to get elected. It may not be pretty, but it will be effective.

shiloh said...

"Now there is some projection and wishful thinking."

No, re: projection/wishful thinking, you would be talking about the Althouse conservative echo chamber Sept./Oct./Nov. 2012.

Fond memories ...

Tommy Duncan said...

Trump declined to see Hillary standing apart from her surrogates.

Hillary has legions of surrogates: Most of the TV and newspaper media, college professors, DNC operatives, teachers unions, La Raza, BLM, Occupy stuff... The list goes on and on.

Other than his campaign staff and Camille Paglia, does Trump have surrogates?

shiloh said...

Damn, it's gonna be fun hearing Althouse and her con clan apologize/rationalize for Trump, like they did previously for Cheney/Bush and Romney.

Nonapod said...

Has Trump come up with an epithetic honorific for Hillary yet (in the vein of "Lyin' Ted Cruz")? Something like "Cheatin' Hillary" or "Shifty Hillary"?

shiloh said...

Indeed, Trump juvenile name calling will work well with the moderate independents who decide presidential elections.

traditionalguy said...

WWF Politics needs some sex and violence story lines. That is not to say sexist. That is about entertaining us with Moll Flanders bawdyness. Moll Flanders is the Heroine of the Low Road winning it all.

And how will the Stone Tricks Dept weave in The Story of Anthony Weiner's weiner? The one that lost its mate to her Powerful Courtesan of Womanly love? That is a job for a National Enquirer subsidiary special edition.

And will Marla Maples stick to her story about best sex she ever had with the little hands guy?

And will Cory Lewandowski escape Karma punishment for doing his job too well?

And what is " Campaign Sex"anyway?

And is it true that Scott Walker once did it with an entire mob just to get reelected?.

mccullough said...

Trump is his own surrogate. That's a positive trait.

tim in vermont said...

Shilo is right about one thing, the same media that is holding a pillow over Sanders' head right now will bury every negative story re Hillary. Until Trump brings them up himself.

cubanbob said...

shiloh said...
btw, when is Trump gonna release his tax returns or would that go against being politically incorrect?

The whole nation will now be focusing on Trump like a laser beam, whereas Hillary is already an open book."

You shoulda been in DC the other night. You are much funnier than that Wilmore guy. Trump The Bitch! Hillary For Prison 2016

shiloh said...

"Trump is his own surrogate. That's a positive trait."

If that's true, big if, then he has one positive trait.

Sebastian said...

"They completely omitted the main idea, that he wouldn't choose the low road, but he's prepared to operate on that level if his opponents choose it." Faux shock, right? They [fill in the blank to distort something some non-lefty said or to promote some Prog cause or to display some Prog fallacy or --]! Again! Shame on them! Don't they know there's a law prof up in WI who will wag her finger at them?

"What was so striking about the rhetoric . . . is that Trump seemed to enjoy saying "low road" and exhibiting his comfort with that place." Faux surprise, right? I mean, you have heard of the Donald before. It is "striking" that he "exhibited his comfort" with the low road? The only thing that's striking is that he contemplated the distinction between high and low. What difference, at this point, does it make, and who the hell could tell?

holdfast said...

"whereas Hillary is already an open book."

Well her Her Majesty's Secret Server apparently had some ports left open for years, but that's not quite the same thing. I hope Gucciffer doesn't end up playing the celestial harp next to Vince Foster.

What makes this so meta is that Media Matters is nothing more than the primary attack arm of the Clinton machine. It's a wholly-owned sub of Clinton Inc. And yet it is somehow treated as some sort of news source.

jg said...

Loved this one, including a typical headline distortion. Trump really thinks about this stuff, and better than preparing some Rubio-like talking points, he settles on the social frame/stance he wants to impart, and is actually capable of steering/improv consistent with those premeditated decisions.

This the same advantage yielded by preconsidered ethical principles (don't have the first drink, no matter the circumstance). You could say that Trump does operate in a principled way; it's just that he might conceal what he values the most (less negotiating/manipulation leverage for his opponents). Really smart.

Hagar said...

Hillary! has a 50 year record of life on the "low road."
Trump expects it to get ugly, very ugly, and he is just letting them know he is from New York.

dbp said...

Lots of great stuff in that Salon piece:

"Hillary’s anti-male subtext, to which so many women voters are plainly drawn, flared into view last week when she crowed to CNN’s Jake Tapper about her proven skills in sex war: “I have a lot of experience dealing with men who sometimes get off the reservation in the way they behave and how they speak….I’m not going to deal with their temper tantrums or their bullying or their efforts to try to provoke me.” The prestige media tried to suppress Hillary’s gaffes here (which breezily insulted both men and Native Americans) by simply not reporting them. Her campaign deflected initial criticism, but she made no personal response until the issue kept escalating. Five days later, she sat down with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell and incredibly claimed that she had been referring to Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Rep. Rick Lazio and Vladimir Putin—none of whom have had perceptible “temper tantrums” about her."

And

"And as for “off the reservation”, wow—I guess Hillary should take a gander at John Ford’s classic Western, Fort Apache (1948), where John Wayne tangles with Henry Fonda as a U.S. Cavalry martinet vengefully pursuing the Native American “savages,” led by the famous Chiricahua Apache chief Cochise, who refuse to stay on the reservation decreed for them by the government during Westward expansion. The bloody Apache wars in Arizona were one of the darkest chapters in American history. But there you have Hillary’s gender theory in a nutshell: men are bums and bullies who belong in internment camps under female lock and key."

Nonapod said...

Damn, it's gonna be fun hearing Althouse and her con clan apologize/rationalize for Trump, like they did previously for Cheney/Bush and Romney.

Speaking for myself as I have said many, many times here and elsewhere, I'm no fan of Trump but I'll vote for him over Hillary. I'll never "apologize" for him (in fact I'm not sure I've ever apologized for any politician).

Will you "apologize" for Hillary?

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

shiloh, does the $25 million that Clinton 'earnt' in two years giving speeches bother you at all? Does it bother you that she did this while knowing that she would be running for president a year later? Does it bother you that she has so little control over her greed that she would jeopardize a presidential run just to make a quick buck?

It's as easy to attack the short-fingered vulgarian as it is hard to defend the Clintons.

Tommy Duncan said...

In the news: "Norman Lear Calls on Hollywood Democrats to Unite Behind Hillary Clinton"

Chuck said...

Come on! What sentient being out there doesn't know that Trump will absolutely take the low road? Of course he will! It is his business model! It's in his DNA!

Althouse, did you see that the Rolling Stones' attorneys sent Trump a cease-and-desist letter, demanding that the campaign stop using "Start Me Up" at rallies?

Before the Trumpkins get huffy about that, recall that The Donald sued a couple from South Africa, also named Trump, for running a business that was named the Trump Organization in about 1976, before anybody outside of NYC knew of Donald or even Fred Trump.

Tommy Duncan said...

"Rob Reiner Says Trump Supporters Are Racist"

shiloh said...

"Will you "apologize" for Hillary?"

When you apologize for Cheney/Bush.

mccullough said...

Shiloh,

Trump is funny, too. That's a positive. He also likes America. That's three. He's not a Republican or a Democrat. That's four. He's going to have a lot of fun in this election. We don't have enough fun in this country.

Bruce Hayden said...

I found it interesting. Trump is pivoting to the general, and Hillary cannot really do so yet. He did it the day after essentially sewing up the nomination. McCullough above pointed out that he is better at adjusting. I think we saw that here. I think that it was esp. important that he tied Hillary to her surrogates up front. She has always operated through them, and been able to distance herself from the muck that they throw against any opponents. Trump has made clear here, on day 1, that that isn't going to work. When one of her surrogates goes dirty against him, he will be calling her out on it, and responding appropriately. It probably won't be as hard as it might, since her top surrogates are so well known. And, most of the top MSM have well known (but rarely mentioned) Dem party affiliations, if not direct Clinton ties (e.g. for Clinton staffer George Stephenopolis contributing to the Clinton Foundation, and his weasely excuse for having done so).

I do expect though that we will have leftists like Shiloh here dive bombing this blog through the election. We have seen him (or her) around in the past on occasion, but I expect to see a lot of Trump attacks du jour, or even somewhat stale ones, just like his call for Trump's tax returns. How about an accounting of the Clinton Foundation? Oh, wait, even Common Cause, chaired by Clintonite Robert Reich, has asked that the foundation open up its books to outside audit and to stop accepting foreign donations. This was, of course, after the NYT laid out how the Russians gained control over 1/5 of the US uranium supply after contributions to the Clinton Foundation. Properly audited financials for the foundation would most likely show contributions from entities around the world, many of them inimical to US interests. Should we start calling her the Traitoress Corrupt Hillary too? (with her selling of influence to foreigners).

Meade said...

No, please, shiloh — never apologize for Hillary. Hold that banner high. With pride. Sing, full-throated, her praises. Up and down every mountain, every valley, from sea to shining sea.

YoungHegelian said...

We have left out of this discussion the other candidate left standing, & that is Bernie Sanders. Now, Bernie will lose to HRC, but he will lose gracefully & ultimately throw his support to her.

His supporters, on the other hand, especially the "Red Guards" faction that have attacked Trump rallies, have absolutely no intention of going quietly into that good night. When they lose, it'll start to get ugly. Some of them are already calling for "direct action" against the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia. Considering the fact that there will no doubt be hard-left Bernie-ites among the delegates who'll help drag the Trojan Horse inside the walls, it could get ugly not just on the streets, but on the convention floor, too. Streamed on C-Span for all the world to see.

Will the "Red Guards" also attack the Republicans in Cleveland? Oh, for sure. But the Republicans have absolutely no intention of ever letting them get in the door, & so it'll be on the streets between the demonstrators & the cops. For the Democrats, I can't see how they can keep the Bernie-ites out.

Bruce Hayden said...

Shilo is right about one thing, the same media that is holding a pillow over Sanders' head right now will bury every negative story re Hillary. Until Trump brings them up himself.

Hillary isn't an open book. Yet. We don't know what she said to all those wall street bankers, or, indeed, to many of those to whom she gave those expensive speeches. And, we don't have a properly audit of the Clinton Foundation, which we do know has taken some foreign donations. Maybe a lot of them. A lot of apparent quid pro quos, many appearing inimical to US interests. Even if it turns out to be a false rumor, I expect that Trump will dredge it out and throw it at her. How many people even know, yet, about all the dirt that has come out about her stint at the State Department? And her financial ties to those who benefitted? Woman has been grossly corrupt since she worked on the Watergate case so many decades ago. But, the magnitude of the corruption doesn't seem to have exploded until she left the White House.

Bruce Hayden said...

Thinking about this a bit more - some have questioned Trump naming her "Corrupt Hillary" (maybe "Corrupt Clinton" may have been better...), but I think that I can now see the logic here. There is so much dirt, that if things get dirty (as they most likely will), and Trump starts dishing some of it, I expect that the predominant theme will be her corruption (and that of her family, but mostly her, since her husband is still somewhat lovable to many). I don't really expect to hear that much about Vince Foster, but the rest of it? In depth. I think that it was in expectation of his planned attack on her that he coined the Corrupt Hillary name. Expect that any time he dumps dirt, it will be associated with that name.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3)...

Good thing the IRS has been keeping a close eye on the tea party groups, otherwise a tax-exempt non-profit might engage in politics.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

shiloh said...
When you apologize for Cheney/Bush.


This is fair. Hillary is just greedy, Bush/Cheney were monumentally incompetent. Brezhnev era incompetence, that fucked with the lives of millions.

Brando said...

O'Reilly's nuts. There never was a chance for "high road." We haven't seen that in previous campaigns, so why would this campaign be any different?

FullMoon said...

And if she wants to go the high road, which probably I would prefer, I would be fine with that.

Probably? haha! Sounds like "might, or, might not". That word stood out for me, and I liked the way he casually used it.
As for Trumps frequently changing positions, he is obviously so brilliant, he can evolve overnight, unlike Clinton and Obama and other politicians whose evolution regarding gay marriage took years. We need a fast thinker to lead the country, not a doddering old Grandma who takes forever to make up her mind.

Rick said...

AReasonableMan said...
This is fair. Hillary is just greedy, Bush/Cheney were monumentally incompetent


In fact Hillary is just as incompetent having replicated the Bush error in Libya.

machine said...

Does he really need to say he's fine with the low road...on the Bill O'Reilly show?

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

Hillary is just greedy

No, Hillary is also monumentally incompetent and corrupt.

FullMoon said...

Chuck said...

Come on! What sentient being out there doesn't know that Trump will absolutely take the low road? Of course he will! It is his business model! It's in his DNA!

Althouse, did you see that the Rolling Stones' attorneys sent Trump a cease-and-desist letter, demanding that the campaign stop using "Start Me Up" at rallies?

Before the Trumpkins get huffy about that, recall that The Donald sued a couple from South Africa, also named Trump, for running a business that was named the Trump Organization in about 1976, before anybody outside of NYC knew of Donald or even Fred Trump.


Good morning Chuck,
Say, when will you get around to grabbing Greta's arm like you promised? You know, to see how she reacts to being assaulted? Seemed fairly important a couple of weeks ago. Haha, just kidding. So, Rolling Stones Attorney cease and desist, eh? Are those the same musicians associated with murderous gang who killed a guy at concert in California. Seems like bad company to me.
Have they endorsed Hillary?You know, Sympathy for the Devil and all that.

Hagar said...

If Trump has dead bodies on his trail, would we not have heard about it by now?

shiloh said...

mccullough, "if" Trump brings a little fun into your otherwise dreary life that would be a small positive.

But please give Trump his due as he is easily both a Rep and Dem. Again, quite the chameleon. He's whatever you want him to be and in that sense he's the perfect politician. But then you also have to deal with his abrasive nature, narcissism, pathological lying, never giving specifics to any policy position.

Indeed, the perfect politician ie quite the insider and crony to all the top "establishment" hierarchy.

>

He personifies all the bull shit in America, what's not to like!

shiloh said...

Sarcasm aside Meade, you hold up the Althouse con echo chamber banner quite well. Congrats!

There's no such thing as a perfect politician, except if Althouse is talking about Romney/Rubio/Trump er any "politician" she really, really likes.

Cruel neutrality notwithstanding.

Dude1394 said...

Well if he were trying to scare hillary off of the "low road" he has to sell it. With relish...

tim in vermont said...

Vote Hillary, far from perfect but the Democrats can't find anyone else who wants the job!

Gabriel said...

@Meade:Trump ain't Chauncey Gardiner.

No; Chauncey Gardiner is no longer Constitutionally eligible, his second term finishes January 2016.

Todd said...

My link goes to Media Matters, which mangles the meaning in its headline

and

I almost don't blame Media Matters for screwing up the interpretation

Both statements assume facts not in evidence. Has Media Matters ever shown themselves to be other that liberal/democrat partisan hacks?

Why do you give them air by linking to them? They should be allowed to suffocate through lack of acknowledgement, just like Politifact.

n.n said...

He needs to neutralize the female chauvinist card, the [class] diversity card, the anti-native card, the congruence card, the selective child card, the progressive wars card, and other juvenile themes.

Chuck said...

FullMoon;

You will have to ask the Trump Campaign for a letter of recommendation re: The Stones. It was the Trump people who chose a Stones tune. And of course musicians demanding that politicians cease and desist from using their music is nothing new. What is new is that Trump's own crazed litigation history has him as a plaintiff in one such case. With infinitely less to back himself up than the Stones.

As for grabbing folks, Corey Lewandowski is at the top of my list. But if Greta is around, she'll do.

Marty Keller said...

Nice to see that Ms. Clinton has time to troll under the pseudonym "Shiloh"--or maybe (wouldn't that be a kick in the rubber parts) it's actually Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.

Achilles said...

Hillary is the perfect candidate for Trump to run against.

She is low energy like Jeb.

She is a mediocre political talent like Walker.

She is as politically ambitious as Cruz.

Rubio is an Oligarch sellout but he is not even in Hillary's league. Hillary has 2 traits where she is exceptional: She is fantastically corrupt and she has a Vagina she was willing to sell out.

Trump has dozens of accomplished and competent women working for him he can compare to Bill's clinging little woman. Women who wouldn't enable a serial abuser of female subordinates.

Bruce Hayden said...

Nice to see that Ms. Clinton has time to troll under the pseudonym "Shiloh"--or maybe (wouldn't that be a kick in the rubber parts) it's actually Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.

Not sure that she could troll as Shiloh, if her life depended on it. This is the woman who couldn't figure out the turnstiles on the NYC subway, and hasn't driven for the last two decades. Supposedly, the whole purpose of the private email server was because she was so technologically illiterate that she couldn't figure out how to use the State Department email system, etc. (Not that I buy that excuse...)

johns said...

I think Trump has been using "crooked Hillary" as the moniker for her. Better than "corrupt", i think. And "criminal" might be too strong, regardless of the merits. Trump's method of playing the media is superior to any of the former Republican candidates. He showed with the Kennedy assassination ploy that he can put something out there, then say he doesn't believe it, but that people should look at it because it has been reported. This method will work well when there is no Hillary indictment but lots of rumors swirling around.

Phil 314 said...

Chuck said:
"Althouse, did you see that the Rolling Stones' attorneys sent Trump a cease-and-desist letter, demanding that the campaign stop using "Start Me Up" at rallies?"

Maybe Mick would be okay with Trump using this Stones hit

D.E. Cloutier said...

Trump won't take either road. He has a plane.

Paul said...

Trump is a street fighter. Big business taught him how to talk nice and not so nice. It's a rough game finance. Many sharks, greedy sharks. So low or high, he will do well on any road. And heaven help you if you cross him.

For all I know, he has friends in the Gambino family.

Larvell said...

"OMG, did you see what Trump did there? He said he DIDN'T want to take the low road! Get it? Because people think HE takes the low road, but now he's flipped the tables on them! So now, he'll be able to say that he was FORCED to take the low road, and that it's SO SAD everyone made him do it. I think I just got a little bit pregnant!"