You know what: fine. If you want to keep doing stupid shit to get your outrage satisfaction even if it drives people to Trump, go ahead. But on the off chance you’re actually interested, it was unfair because:
They’d already asked him the question on Friday, and he’d answered the “correct” way
The new bit didn’t ask him to condemn David Duke’s racism, or his endorsement. It asked to specifically say he did not want the man’s vote or the vote of anyone who would listen to him or anyone who was racist.
They didn’t ask him to disavow the endorsement, they didn’t ask him to come out and make a stand against racism or against David Duke’s beliefs. They asked him to tell his own voters not to vote for him and to stay home instead - a chunk of voters who will be not insignificant players in the upcoming Republican primary.
Considering he had already disavowed his racism and his endorsement, you really don’t get how that might be a tad bit “unfair” to ask him to get a step further and say he doesn’t want people to vote for him if they are bad people?
Yes, smug dismissal, that’s certainly a winning strategy considering that’s exactly what Trump is riding to the nomination. Let’s keep that up into the general and hand him the presidency, why don’t we?
Nothing smug there, it’s merely a goodbye. We seem to disagree, you called me stupid, and I am out. There is literally no reason for me to engage in a conversation with someone who doesn’t think I’m smart enough to converse with.
That’s a good point. I think he didn’t so much hit his thumb as just
failed to land a solid hit.
I assumed he’d scored an own goal because he momentarily looked weak. My
interpretation was that Jake Tapper’s question presented him with
unpleasant options - look weak by giving the standard answer, actually
endorse the bête blanche of American politics, or evade. The third
option, evading, goes directly against Trump’s silverback image as someone
willing to confront anyone, anywhere.
It’s entirely possible, though, that he knew it wouldn’t hurt him, and
that’s why he backpedaled.
I really wanted to see him bite the head off Chris Christie, though. The
chewing sounds he’d make into the mic would have been worth it.
No, I said you were doing stupid shit. But if you’re so personally entagled with your rhetoric that calling out a failure in rhetoric is seen as a personal insult, yeah, I guess you’re right, there’s no point in having this conversation.
Personally, I think it was actually a legit fumble. But I don’t think it’s one that’s going to hurt him for the same reasons he could have conceivably done it with intention. The timing doesn’t work, and playing a seemingly confused refusal to condemn without more information as explicit support is going to make it a losing tactic to attack him over.
Yeah, actually, people who are presidential candidates being okay with support from white supremacist is actually a problem and it actually does upset me a fair amount. It’s scary as hell,and we should all be worried about it. My apologies that I am worried about the possibility of a racist dystopian future.
Also worth adding that the person I actually meant to make the “smug dismissal” comment as a reply to millifink, see above as to why. Though yours still was even if you want to deny that’s what you intended.
Maybe it’s why he’s not in the race now, but compare Trump with Lindsey Graham.
When a voter in Iowa suggested barring Islam in the U.S. in response to ISIS, Graham quickly shut him down, the Des Moines Register reports.“You know what, I’m not your candidate,” Graham said, cutting him off. “I don’t want you to vote for me. I couldn’t disagree with you more.”
Not unfair at all. That the ADL asked a valid question they’re vested in is legit news, particularly with regard to Duke.
As I stated, asking about the endorsement is legit, so is “drilling down” when by all accounts the extremists are rallying behind a candidate.
Trump has said, in this election, that he “loves Isreal” so what’s the problem with answering a legit query from the ADL regarding the vocal support of avowed racists?
Trump has said, in this election, that he loves “the blacks”, so what’s the problem with asking for more than the dismissive, perfunctory “I disavow” answer he gave with regard to the endorsement, especially when the endorser is widely known and doubled down his support after being snubbed?
None of it is Gotcha.
Except under one condition alone, and even then limited to the perspective of Trump-that-we-don’t-know.
