Posted on 01/27/2016 2:23:47 PM PST by Behind the Blue Wall
In all of this hubbub about Trump's choice to pull out of the Fox News debate, I think it's useful remember just how deceitful and mendacious Megyn Kelly's attempt at a "kill shot" on Trump was.
After the initial attempt to torpedo him with the "party loyalty pledge" issue, here was Trump's first debate question of the 2016 Presidential campaign, asked by the supposedly "fair and balanced" Megyn Kelly:
"Mr. Trump, one of the things people love about you is you speak your mind and you don't use a politician's filter. However, that is not without its downsides, in particular, when it comes to women. You've called women you don't like 'fat pigs,' 'dogs,' 'slobs' and 'disgusting animals.' ...
Your Twitter account has several disparaging comments about women's looks. You once told a contestant on 'Celebrity Apprentice' it would be a pretty picture to see her on her knees.
Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as president, and how will you answer the charge from Hillary Clinton, who was likely to be the Democratic nominee, that you are part of the war on women?"
Second, to get into the weeds of the particular referenced comments, obviously if you're having a particular issue with one woman, that says nothing about what you do or do not think about all women, so the Rosie O'Donnell quote is completely asinine. And the random quote for the Apprentice, when the video from that was played back, there was obviously a whole context there that at the time nobody batted in eyelash about. In other words, maybe it's relevant if it was something that caused a stir at the time, but to drag it up when nobody at the time thought any of it is just so far out of bounds.
But the worst, worst thing about Mrs. Kelly's egregious abuse of her role as a supposedly neutral arbiter is her reference to the entirely and overtly partisan "War on Women" meme. Nobody except extremely partisan Democrats thinks that Republicans are waging on war on women, so to have it brought up and reinforced by a "moderator" of a Republican debate is just the height of duplicity.
It should be obvious to everyone that Kelly is using her current gig as a stepping stone to bigger and better things on network television, and collecting Trump's scalp would be the ultimate calling card for her in that quest. That Fox News is allowing her to crap all over their network is somewhat surprising . . . until you understand the relationship between the GOPe, Chamber of Commerce, etc. and Fox.
Trump would've IMHO been fully within his rights to have declared then and there that he was never going to participate in another debate with Megyn Kelly as the moderator, or even with Fox News as the producer. Given what's transpired between then and now, I think he's just that much more justified in doing so.
but instead of Trump being long gone and forgotten....the question is long gone and forgotten
Very astute point by point analysis.
Thank you for reminding us of the disgusting “ question” raised at debate#1 by M. Kelly. There is not a man in America and precious few women, I suspect, who would want any further professional contact with that woman.
Good job-agree completely.
Yes, I still marvel at the “only Rosie O’Donnell!” interjection by Trump. That was a pitch perfect redirection from generic “women”, who they might’ve been in the minds of the views themselves, or their wives, daughters, mothers, etc., to a very specific ugly, fat, and rude woman. The fact that he managed to do that before she even finished the question is all I needed to know about the quality of that man’s mind. Brilliant!
You left out Kelly’s reporting that Trump’s first wife had accused him of rape. It was this later-retracted piece of “reporting” that preceded Megan’s attack on Trump in the debate.
Great point!
People also forget January 4th when Megyn Kelly accused Trump of trying to woo her.
On that by itself she should have been taken off as debate moderator.
True . . .
I saw that and actually wasn’t really bothered by the question and thought it was not so terrible. I think what’s going on now is a bit of an over reaction.
Trump’s answer to the two part question should have been 1) the temperament is fine. I just am not politically correct. (and on to his general statements about how pc is screwy) 2) when the dems say war on women, I’ll say it is they who have the real war on women because (litany of lib hypocrisy).
So yes, I agree w/you that the question was unfair, but I don’t agree that it was so bad (I’ve seen far worse over the years) that it merits this response. It would’ve been better to pull that card out for something much more egregious.
Yes, it was like the DNC wrote the question for her.
That’s been my thought exactly about not just Kelly, but also Fox and the rest of the MM.
Trump should use this situation to broaden what he’s saying about the media treatment of him.
Great post! Thanks for this.
Were those Trump’s statements? Yes. Is the ‘war on women’ a dominant theme for Clinton? Yes. What’s the problem with the question? Nothing.
The fact that Trump feels it was unfair to be asked about his own statements shows a disconnect from reality. If he doesn’t want to be questioned about his statements, perhaps he shouldn’t make them. If he is willing to own his own statements, he should not mind in the least answering questions about them.
Storming out of a debate in petulant temper tantrum because the world does not bend to his every whim over a perceived slight that didn’t exist demonstrates he does not have the temperament to be president.
In his own words, Trump could be described as a loser.
Walking away from a bad deal isn’t a sign of weakness.
Poor Trump. We should all feel sorry for him because he is afraid to face questions from a sexy woman. Yes, it is true that she asked stupid questions...and gives speeches in her questions. But that is true of most panelists and moderators. It is even true of some of the rival candidates.
What does it say about a candidate who can’t handle the heat in the kitchen?
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