The Trump leaners do not seem to think he does very well in debates. Trump never seems to move the needle with the debates. It’s always someone else who has the moment and gets a bump in the polls afterwards.
It’s between the debates when Trump surges. He seems to be purposefully saying controversial things simply to claim the day’s headlines, effectively shutting his competition out of the news cycle.
Problem is, this whole strategy will probably collapse in the general election. The media right now loves to play up the sparring between the GOP. But they’ll figure out by next year that they’ll have to keep Trump on media blackout to keep Hillary ahead. And they’ll happily ignore whatever remarks he makes.
That will increase importance of the debates further. And if he gives the same flat performance in those debates that he’s done so far, he won’t win the election. Debates are the most important thing in the general election. It’s the only time most voters will see the Republican unfiltered through media bias. And as we saw when Obama bombed in the first debate, the needle can be moved dramatically by them.
Exactly my concerns. Thanks for fleshing it out a bit more.