Alfonse D'Amato

Why debate? Trump had a better idea.

Posted

Thirty-plus years ago, there was a presidential candidate who, while he had served two terms as governor of California, was still known as a celebrity, and not necessarily as a potential commander in chief.

The Republican establishment was dead set against him. That man was Ronald Reagan, and he was underestimated.

Don’t underestimate Donald Trump. All along, his theme has been, “Make America great again,” the same theme that Reagan once made popular.

Last Thursday, Fox News and Google hosted the last Republican presidential debate before the Iowa caucuses. Fed up with his continuing feud with Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, Trump chose to skip this debate. Instead, he hosted a fundraiser for veterans.

Essentially, Trump stole the show before the debate even happened by announcing that he would not be taking part in it.

His event for veterans and wounded servicemen and women reportedly raised $6 million, $1 million from his own checkbook, to support 22 different veterans organizations. It was attended by Mike Huckabee and Sen. Rick Santorum, two very conservative candidates who have another claim to fame: They won the last two Iowa caucuses, and remain very popular with core Republican voters in the state.

By the time you read this, we’ll know the results of Monday’s caucuses. But this is about more than just Iowa. Say what you want about Trump, but for him to skip the debate and host a fundraiser for veterans — who have been sorely mistreated by our government — was a very astute move. It was unique and attention-grabbing.

The event helped depoliticize his missing the debate. At one point, he said, “Our vets are being mistreated. Illegal immigrants are treated better in many cases than our vets, and it’s not going to happen anymore. It’s not going to happen anymore.”

Those are the kind of tag lines people will remember.

At the same time, inviting Huckabee and Santorum was a brilliant political move. Both men have pockets of support in Iowa. Trump could utilize their supporters and gain the momentum to carry the needed 15 percent in precincts where he was struggling.

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