I’ve come to accept that the Republican establishments only chance of getting rid of Donald Trump is to get him to self implode – since not one of these professed leaders will ever take him on. The best they can do is lob a few personal attacks at him, tsk tsk his tone, and (dare I say it?) point out how un-PC he is. What they don’t do is call out his policy or the substance of his comments.
When Trump made his remarks about Mexican immigrants and the GOP feigned outrage he said, “The crime is raging and it’s violent. And if you talk about it, it’s racist.” Ooh, that line is straight out of the Republican playbook. In GOPland, being called a racist is a gazillion times worse than being a racist.
When Trump said, “He’s (John McCain) not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.” the Republican establishment thought, “Ah ha! Now we’ve got him!” What they ignored was the fact that Republicans are quite comfortable in not supporting all the troops. Swiftboating and booing a gay serviceman is a-okay with them.
Which brings us to Trump’s remarks about Megyn Kelly. Why would anyone think these comments would hurt him? And if you’re wondering why the GOP response to Trump is, once again, so lame consider this: If your party depends on the claim that there isn’t a war on women then what’s the big deal with what Trump said? How is the attack on Megyn Kelly worse than Trump’s attacks on Mexican immigrants and John McCain?
And there’s the rub. Republicans are trying to portray Trump’s words against Kelly as the bridge too far. But, how can they do that when they don’t really believe in sexism?
The truth is… the GOP Presidential field is fine with Trump’s comments about Megyn Kelly, John McCain and Mexican immigrants. What they aren’t fine with is Trump. It’s why their outrage over these comments rings hollow – their outrage over Trump isn’t policy based, it’s personal.
Basically, Trump has beaten them at their own game. The only way they can successfully call out Trump is to call out themselves.