Tina already noted that Rick Perry has – in a very diplomatic fashion – decided to take a pass on the Trump debate. (Who knows? He may have gotten the idea from reading opinions at Hot Gas.) Now RNC Chair Reince Priebus is – with a few self protecting disclaimers – joining in on the dog pile and saying the candidates should skip this event.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus spoke out Thursday against an upcoming GOP presidential debate to be moderated by Donald Trump, saying it would be “malpractice” for him as the leader of the party not to think the debate was problematic.
“We appreciate what Mr. Trump has done, but if you’re still talking about potentially running as an independent candidate, I think that’s a problem,” Priebus said on Fox News. “I think that would be malpractice for me as an RNC chairman to not believe that that is an issue.”
“I think that having a successful businessman serving as a moderator has a lot of value. But the issue here is whether the moderator should still be a person who’s still batting around the idea of running as an independent. I think that should give some of these candidates some concern,” he said.
I haven’t made any secret of my feelings about this event. Trump may do very well for his book sales and the next edition of his reality TV show, but he’s just damaging the brand at this point. With Mitt and Perry already giving down twinkles to the production, and Bachmann looking for all the world like she’ll skip it as well, the showman’s list of prospective attractions is running thin. He’s even been turned down by the “joke candidates” as he put it. (And let’s be honest… are we supposed to take you seriously as an impartial debate moderator when you call someone on the ballot a “joke?”)
Tina noted that Newt enjoys a one on one format such as he had with Cain, but that was intentional. There was never any discussion of it being a larger event. If this turns out to be a similar two person show, Newt will find himself in the position of being the bully who beats up on the kid who came to the prom with his cousin because nobody else would date him. Would that – along with the RNC Chair’s dismissal – be enough to pull the plug on this dog and one pony show?
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