Trump can't take the heat

There is no question that Donald Trump was a crucial factor in the viewership of the first GOP debate on Fox News. About 24 million people watched the debate and got to know the candidates because many wanted to see the "Trump Show."

In this way, "The Donald" has helped the Republican party garner more viewers than any cable news program in history. This can be attributed to Trump's entertainment factor and the anger many conservatives share against political correctness and the lies we constantly get from politicians.

Trump has tapped into our anger and he pulls no punches.

But there comes a point when substance is important. Voters want specifics about what the candidate can do for them and how they think. This gives us the chance to evaluate what's being said/promised, and come to intelligent conclusions.

In the debate, Fox News' Megyn Kelly asked Trump a specific question about his disparagement of women: "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."

Trump quickly interjected, "Only Rosie O'Donnell." Everyone knows about their feud and how they sparred in the past.

But Megyn Kelly didn't allow him to get away with that reply. "No, it wasn't," she said. "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 is likely to be the Democratic nominee, that you are part of the war on women?"

Trump's comeback was to argue about political correctness being "the big problem."

"Frankly, what I say, and oftentimes it's fun, it's kidding," Trump said. "We have a good time. What I say is what I say, and honestly Megyn, if you don't like it, I'm sorry."

Trump told CNN's Don Lemon that Megyn Kelly had it out for him during the debate. "She gets out and she starts asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions. You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her . . . whatever."

The implication was clear. You don't have to be a deviant to know what he was going to refer to but decided that sometimes political correctness is the only way to go.

Vox, the far left ragblog, supported Trump and came out with what they referred to as a "complex theory" as to why Fox went after him.

It's not just about what happened at Thursday's debate. It's also about the way Fox News had, until Thursday, been inflating the Trump bubble, and the broader tension between Fox News's role as a ratings-obsessed cable network, an actual journalistic outlet, and one of the most important institutional actors in the Republican Party.

So, according to Vox, Trump was basically ambushed by Megyn Kelly. That would seem to imply that Kelly threw 'softballs' to the other candidates so that they would outdo The Donald on stage.

But alas, that wasn't the case. 

Kelly asked Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin about his strict abortion stance: "Would you really let a mother die, rather than having an abortion?" 

And while the death of a mother over a child is extremely rare, Walker dealt with the question admirably.

She asked Jeb Bush about saying that his brother's decision to get us into Iraq was a mistake: "To the families of those who died in that war . . . how do you look at them now and say your brother's war was a mistake?"

Bush dealt with it.

She asked Ohio Gov. John Kasich about his justifying the expansion of Medicaid in Ohio by arguing that he would be able to speak to Saint Peter at the pearly gates about it. "Why should Republican voters, who generally want to shrink government, believe you won't use your Saint Peter analogy to expand all government?" Then she asked him: "If you had a son or daughter who was gay or lesbian, how would you explain to them your opposition to same sex marriage?"

Kasich dealt with both questions quite well.

Kelly's first question to Dr. Ben Carson was directed at his readiness to be president based upon his previous lack of knowledge of government affairs. 

Carson dealt with it and came away from the debate by "sticking the landing." 

Kasich's questions, like those posed to Walker, Carson and Bush were tough, but they all dealt with them and handled them thoughtfully and well.

Trump also dealt with the question that Megyn Kelly posed, but he appeared arrogant, angry and seemed to take it personally, attacking Kelly for what she called him out on: misogyny. 

And like an angry kid who didn't want to clean his room, Trump complained to CNN that he was treated "unfairly."

I don't think calling politicians "stupid," and "losers" is going to continue to work for Trump. There's just so much traction one can get from anger without substance.

Anger without substance is like a hula-hoop for a snake--they don't have hips.

And Vox has as much credibility as Hillary Clinton's server story.



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