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Trump’s presence in first GOP debate makes prep challenging for candidates
The Washington Post
Dan Balz and Robert Costa
7/29/2015
Excerpt:
Next week’s Republican presidential debate in Cleveland marks not only the inaugural formal gathering of the expansive GOP field but also the start of a new and unpredictable chapter in an already raucous 2016 race.
Under the bright studio lights on the shores of Lake Erie on Aug. 6, ambitions will be showcased, positions staked, and Donald Trump, who has consumed the summer’s political headlines, will finally be confronted, face to face, by his rivals.
“There is more downside than upside for most candidates, and the first goal is to try not to self-destruct,” said former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who ran for the GOP nomination in 2012.
“You don’t want to get in a situation where you knock yourself out,” Gingrich said. “The candidates ought to figure out what their message is for the American people rather than worrying too much about the back-and-forth with others.”
But the presence of Trump, who has in recent days attacked former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Texas governor Rick Perry, makes calculations more difficult. Every candidate will have a strategy for making a memorable impression. “Every candidate has to have a Trump strategy” as well, said an experienced GOP operative.
“A multi-candidate debate can be hard,” said Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who has for two decades counseled Republican nominees before debates. “Spending time with policy books is part of it, but so is carefully considering what the dynamic is going to be.”
Figuring out how to handle Trump is a constant subject among campaign aides, especially with regard to his demeanor. Will he be combative and mostly disregard the rules and moderators, or will he go from being “P.T. Barnum to Reaganesque,” as one campaign adviser wondered.
In recent days, Trump has cast the others as the hunters and himself as the hunted, telling reporters this past weekend in Iowa, “From what I’ve heard, every one of them is going to come at me. . . . For two hours, I’m going to be, like, in the lion’s den, right?”
.................................................. ......
View the complete article, including video and images, at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politi...92a_story.html
The Washington Post
Dan Balz and Robert Costa
7/29/2015
Excerpt:
Next week’s Republican presidential debate in Cleveland marks not only the inaugural formal gathering of the expansive GOP field but also the start of a new and unpredictable chapter in an already raucous 2016 race.
Under the bright studio lights on the shores of Lake Erie on Aug. 6, ambitions will be showcased, positions staked, and Donald Trump, who has consumed the summer’s political headlines, will finally be confronted, face to face, by his rivals.
“There is more downside than upside for most candidates, and the first goal is to try not to self-destruct,” said former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who ran for the GOP nomination in 2012.
“You don’t want to get in a situation where you knock yourself out,” Gingrich said. “The candidates ought to figure out what their message is for the American people rather than worrying too much about the back-and-forth with others.”
But the presence of Trump, who has in recent days attacked former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Texas governor Rick Perry, makes calculations more difficult. Every candidate will have a strategy for making a memorable impression. “Every candidate has to have a Trump strategy” as well, said an experienced GOP operative.
“A multi-candidate debate can be hard,” said Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who has for two decades counseled Republican nominees before debates. “Spending time with policy books is part of it, but so is carefully considering what the dynamic is going to be.”
Figuring out how to handle Trump is a constant subject among campaign aides, especially with regard to his demeanor. Will he be combative and mostly disregard the rules and moderators, or will he go from being “P.T. Barnum to Reaganesque,” as one campaign adviser wondered.
In recent days, Trump has cast the others as the hunters and himself as the hunted, telling reporters this past weekend in Iowa, “From what I’ve heard, every one of them is going to come at me. . . . For two hours, I’m going to be, like, in the lion’s den, right?”
.................................................. ......
View the complete article, including video and images, at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politi...92a_story.html