Zero-Attention Span Candidate Shockingly Blowing Off Debate Prep
Is Trump preparing for the next debate? Depends on whom you ask.
If you ask, say, the New York Post, he’s all over it:
Donald Trump is taking next week’s presidential debate – a nationally televised town hall forum – seriously enough to prepare, carving out time with governor-turned-debate coach Chris Christie and even conducting a live open-to-press mock town hall in New Hampshire.
Wow! Impressive! Except POLITICO has a different take, and it appears to be backed up with actual quotes:
This was not the debate tune-up that jittery Republicans were hoping for.
Only days before Donald Trump must face Hillary Clinton in a town-hall style presidential debate, the GOP nominee added just such an event in New Hampshire. It was seemingly a concession to anxious allies and advisers hoping he might hone his skills in what can be a difficult format even for the most dexterous of politicians.Trump had other plans. “They were saying this is practice for Sunday,” he told the crowd in speech before the so-called town-hall. “This isn’t practice. This has nothing to do with Sunday.”
He wasn’t wrong.
. . . .
Trump’s campaign did place a two-minute countdown clock in front of their candidate on Thursday. He repeatedly blew past that time limit anyway.
“I said forget debate prep. I mean, give me a break,” Trump said at one point. “Do you really think that Hillary Clinton is debate-prepping for three or four days. Hillary Clinton is resting, okay?”
Even people who despise Trump, like me, at least thought that maybe he’d slap Hillary around a little in the debates, in ways that other people wouldn’t dare. Sure, we knew he’d be ineffective, goofy, ill-informed, and generally Trumpy. But at least we’d have the satisfaction of watching Hillary take a few roundhouses. Instead we got this: “I was going to say something extremely rough to Hillary, to her family, and I said to myself, ‘I can’t do it. I just can’t do it. It’s inappropriate. It’s not nice.'”
Boooooooooo.
Trump will never “prepare” for anything because he has the attention span of that dog from “Up!” who always chases the squirrels. But is it asking to much for him not to play the smarmy classy guy nobody believes he really is?
His similarities to Obama are striking.
AZ Bob (d6a3a9) — 10/7/2016 @ 7:44 amManaging expectations or ignoring the work. You decide.
NJRob (a07d2e) — 10/7/2016 @ 7:44 amtown hall debates are gay
happyfeet (28a91b) — 10/7/2016 @ 8:17 amOff-topic…
Inventor of the Back-Up-Sensor
I bet you think it was Ford, maybe GM, how about Chrysler? No, then how about Mercedes Benz? No! It was a Chinese farmer!
Lots of the newer cars have a Back-Up Sensor that warns the driver before the rear bumper actually comes in contact with something. Surprising it was not developed by modern automotive engineers using the latest technology. It was disclosed recently that the first to develop the Back-Up-Sensor was a Chinese Farmer.
His invention was simple and effective. It emits a high-pitch squeal when the vehicle backs into something.
Here’s his first prototype…
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-esGe0xRKPq4/VFHFxp4tzDI/AAAAAAAAF_I/wDtZm2PXI0A/s2560/1414645187530.jpeg
Colonel Haiku (b5e7fd) — 10/7/2016 @ 8:17 amColonel, thank you for the laugh on a not very laughing day (it is the anniversary of my mother’s death).
My late father had a very similar idea to yours: he called it “The Oh-No Bird.” Imagine a bird with testicles longer than its own legs. So when it comes in for a landing, the bird yells “OH NO OH NO OH NO.”
Regarding the topic of this post, it just breaks my heart. DJT could do things to make himself more competitive. He chooses not to do so. I understand he is a walking upraised middle finger to PC culture. That’s good. But not trying harder to beat HRC? Not so much.
Well, it makes me want to ask the opinion the “old” happyfeet who understood punctuation, capitalization, and cogent thinking. But I suspect many people are now denizens of Planet Current Happyfeet, and are all about crass slogans.
Some folks want more, but they get drowned out. Thank you for trying to raise your voice in this nasty culture, Colonel. And I am sorry about your friend’s son.
Simon Jester (c8876d) — 10/7/2016 @ 8:24 amThanks much, Simon. I like your father’s scenario, that’s a good one! And thoughts are with you on the anniversary.
Colonel Haiku (b5e7fd) — 10/7/2016 @ 8:31 amWhaddya think?
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/14523162_550379821834724_3313903043749045882_n.jpg?oh=ee820020de964300f1e213729560244d&oe=58A9DF4B
Colonel Haiku (b5e7fd) — 10/7/2016 @ 8:34 amUp! was a great film. If Hillary wins then I would like to attach balloons to my house.
Andrew (c987a5) — 10/7/2016 @ 8:47 amColonel, that made me laugh. Hagar is such a goofball, and loves life.
I don’t mean to insult anyone anymore (haven’t we all seen enough of that these days), but I remember my late father watching HRC on television years ago, and saying to me, “That is a long afternoon.”
Truck driver, oil field worker, firefighter. My father liked to play the cornpone redneck thing. But he was awfully clever.
Simon Jester (c8876d) — 10/7/2016 @ 8:50 amDonald Trump was sent in by Hollywood central casting to play the Ugly Rethuglican and lose. THe only real surprise is it has taken him this long.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 10/7/2016 @ 10:29 amI understand he is a walking upraised middle finger to PC culture. That’s good. But not trying harder to beat HRC? Not so much.
He, like his supporters, find it more important to rant and throw a tantrum than to actually win an election. They’ve HATED it that the GOP never seems to nominated ranters and tantrum-throwers, and are convinced THAT’S what the people really really want.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 10/7/2016 @ 10:33 amtown hall debates are gay
The Trump campaign is fey.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 10/7/2016 @ 10:35 amWhile I think this is more than plausible, it could also be a ruse.
Denver Guy (4750ec) — 10/7/2016 @ 10:57 amOdds are he’ll go up on the debate state Sunday night and spend at least some time talking about how great his good friend, Tom Brady, played in a return from suspension against Cleveland earlier in the day and then somehow relate it to himself. Because Trump’s a guy who knows exactly where his priorities should be….
John (a4c2a4) — 10/7/2016 @ 11:06 amUnscreened town halls are not Maudie’s forte even though she has been preparing for these debates for 30 years. Yet still needs a few days off to prep. Takes time for those special meds to builds up and get use to moving on stage in that corset, back and leg brace.
Her biggest challenge is to hide her gloat and stop herself from slipping into lecture mode. Thing is, she does both so ‘naturally.’ Four years of Bea Arthur in your living room is not appealing.
JR just need to be his warm and charming, big-city-self.
“Thank you for a memorable afternoon, usually one must go to a bowling alley to meet a woman of your stature.” – “Arthur” 1981
DCSCA (797bc0) — 10/7/2016 @ 11:37 amTrump has never said anything original about Hillary Clinton.
Sammy Finkelman (6e331b) — 10/7/2016 @ 11:39 amThis is a good point. One thing nevertrumpers like me could hope for from Trump is some really biting criticism that would make most presidential candidates cringe. Why do these guys always find their PC at this specific stage of the game?
Dustin (ba94b2) — 10/7/2016 @ 11:44 amI don’t mean to insult anyone anymore (haven’t we all seen enough of that these days), but I remember my late father watching HRC on television years ago, and saying to me, “That is a long afternoon.”
I remember my late father coming downstairs to go to the office one wintry morning in the mid-70s, passing the TV with Barbara Walters babbling on NBC’s ‘Today Show’ and blurting out before his coffee, ‘Why the hell anyone would want to wake up to that woman’s ugly puss is beyond me…”
A cherished memory.
‘Smellevision replaces television’ – Bugs Bunny, ‘The Old Grey Hare’ WB Merrie Melodies, 1944
DCSCA (797bc0) — 10/7/2016 @ 12:02 pmWhat difference does it make, Patterico, will you vote for him if he does?
So what? Neither have you or me or Dustin. There’s nothing “original” to say about the idiot. Are you and Dustin saying if Trump says something “original” about the slimy liar you guys will vote for him? It doesn’t matter what Trump says or does you will never vote for him so he’s better off not worrying about pleasing people like you.
Rev. Hoagie® (785e38) — 10/7/2016 @ 12:06 pmBrought to you by the Redundant Office of Redundancy.
John Hitchcock (4558ba) — 10/7/2016 @ 12:12 pm“Donald Trump is taking next week’s presidential debate – a nationally televised town hall forum – seriously enough to prepare, carving out time with governor-turned-debate coach Chris Christie…
If you wanna make a hit on TV, what better person to coach you than ‘Governor Soprano.’
“Badda-bing.” – ‘The Sopranos,’ HBO TV
DCSCA (797bc0) — 10/7/2016 @ 12:14 pmIf you’re going to go there, DCSCA, is Gov. Christie going to belly-bump one of the moderators like what happened to one of the motorcycle gang members in Bronx Tale?
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 10/7/2016 @ 12:29 pmPatterico, I’m surprised at you. How dare you sully Dug by comparing him to Trump? Dug is a good dog.
Demosthenes (09f714) — 10/7/2016 @ 12:31 pm@ Rev. Hoagie, #19:
Yes, because only Never-Trumpers think that Trump is a man without class.
The lesson I’m hearing is that it’s better not to take the advice of your most implacable opponents, even if taking it would be in your best interests, because screw them.
Demosthenes (09f714) — 10/7/2016 @ 12:34 pm@22- The ratings should make it a hit with the advertising sales people in Manhattan… the Bronx, not so much. 😉
DCSCA (797bc0) — 10/7/2016 @ 12:54 pm…yeah, you might be right about the Bronx – the ol’ “stinkypig” as one refers to her loves to swill those Presidente (Dominican) beers.
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 10/7/2016 @ 1:32 pmIt’s the WaPo’s turn this Friday for another Trump Coffin Nail.
Rick Ballard (1aa129) — 10/7/2016 @ 1:47 pmIts sad when the only Bush that might get on the Trump train is the little brown one (TX Land Commissioner George P. Bush actually endorsed DJT) – maybe Billy Bush will deny deny deny but I’m a skeptic.
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 10/7/2016 @ 1:53 pm‘After I whip his you know what in this debate, we’re going to be going out 24/7,’ McCain said of his upcoming debate with Obama, but seeming to consider recent criticism that his words have been too inflammatory, he quickly told supporters to be respectful.
Pinandpuller (15311c) — 10/7/2016 @ 2:15 pmThe lesson I’m hearing is that people actually believe one’s “implacable opponents” would actually give them good advice. That’s waaaay past naïve and deep into stupid.
Rev. Hoagie® (785e38) — 10/7/2016 @ 2:22 pm@ Rev. Hoagie, #30:
The quality of advice does not depend on its source. Claims should be evaluated on their own merits. Educated people know this.
That probably explains why it comes as a surprise to you…and Mr. Trump.
Demosthenes (09f714) — 10/7/2016 @ 2:24 pmThe quality of advice most certainly depends on its source. Would you take medical advice from a car salesman? Would you seriously take advice from your enemy? If you would believe your “implacable opponent” you should never give advice to anyone. Do you think Demosthenes would take political advice from his implacable opponent?
So since I’ve shown you to be wrong you call me uneducated? You are a true leftist. You may lose the argument but you’ll never lose the personal attack afterward. Aside from the fact you have no idea what my education level is, do you? And what would my education matter if I am correct or are you one of those leftist elites who judge people by their schooling rather than their knowledge?
Rev. Hoagie® (785e38) — 10/7/2016 @ 3:11 pmThere’s still time for Hillary to have a Joe the Plumber moment. That’s one reason they have her sequestered.
Pinandpuller (15311c) — 10/7/2016 @ 3:16 pm@31 Demosthenes
You could be drinking the very best quality beer Natty Ice offers but you are still drinking Natty Ice.
Pinandpuller (15311c) — 10/7/2016 @ 3:20 pmTrump’s grab their p—y comment just about finishes him off. Is there any way the party can force Trump to drop out and make Pence the candidate? He is so much better than all of those clowns.
Rev. Hoagie® (785e38) — 10/7/2016 @ 4:25 pm@35 Rev Hoagie
Oh I don’t know. This could turn out to be a real Pandora’s Box for Hillary and her concupiscent spouse.
Pinandpuller (e2e35f) — 10/7/2016 @ 4:40 pmI’m sure the media will expend trillions of pixels carefully explaining the parallels with Clinton.
I referred to Trump’s solid 38% floor. I hope everyone understands “solid” to have been a theoretical construct which may not actually pertain in reality.
Rick Ballard (1aa129) — 10/7/2016 @ 4:47 pmhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-recorded-having-extremely-lewd-conversation-about-women-in-2005/2016/10/07/3b9ce776-8cb4-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html
Better than Hillary, eh? Good grief.
nk (dbc370) — 10/7/2016 @ 4:49 pmThrow me in the briar bush, sister Hillary.
Pinandpuller (e2e35f) — 10/7/2016 @ 4:55 pmT+ape from ‘Access Hollywood with Billy Bush’ [gee, can you guess who he’s related to?????] is a tin fish a midships for JR.
Now we know who has been advising Trump. It hasn’t been Ailes.
It’s been Andrew Dice Clay.
“Damage control, report!!’ – “Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea”- almost any episode, ABC- TV, 1964-68
DCSCA (797bc0) — 10/7/2016 @ 5:00 pmMarco Rubio would be mopping the floor with illary right about now.
Cruz Supporter (102c9a) — 10/7/2016 @ 5:04 pmRev H.
A completely OT, nonPC joke for you.
You sound like you need one.
How do we know Hurricane Matthew is not gay?
Kishnevi (ec71b1) — 10/7/2016 @ 5:09 pmBecause he avoided Ft.Lauderdale. Where the boys are.
So Billy Bush is 41’s nephew and 43’s cousin. Who voted for him for President? This is all Trump. Making anything he touches dirty. Because he’s dirty. A piece of New York sewer filth.
nk (dbc370) — 10/7/2016 @ 5:13 pm36.
I think any attempt to bring up Bill’s lechery and Hillary’s responses to it helps Hillary.
Because it brings up the side of her that is most sympathetic and human.
If you think on it, I am sure each of you can think of one woman in either your family or circle of social acquaintances, who discovered her husband was cheating on her, and reacted either by denial, full scale attack on the other woman (….hath no fury like a woman scorned), or both. And we all know of women who chose to stay married because of materialistic reasons even when the marriage seemed completely dead.
Kishnevi (ec71b1) — 10/7/2016 @ 5:18 pmI don’t know if Trump thinks that far ahead but it would be awesome if John Miller released it to lure Hillary and the media into the blast radius like the climactic scene in The Stand.
Pinandpuller (e2e35f) — 10/7/2016 @ 5:19 pm43
As long as there is no connection to Bush’s Baked Beans, we are safe.
Kishnevi (ec71b1) — 10/7/2016 @ 5:21 pmYeah, it was 2005, and Trump said to himself, “I need to say something sickening and disgusting, to be released on October 7, 2016, when I’m running for President, in order to distract from all the other ways I’m unfit for the office”.
nk (dbc370) — 10/7/2016 @ 5:24 pmNah, no way. Trump could never, in a million years, form a sentence that complex.
nk (dbc370) — 10/7/2016 @ 5:25 pmHad to look this one up. Holy moley. Well, I guess we can get ready for 100 ‘voter outreach’ jokes.
Dustin (ba94b2) — 10/7/2016 @ 5:32 pm@43– Well, if you listen to the whole thing it doesn’t make Billy Bush sound particularly wholesome, either.
So much for ‘family values.’
Still, BB ain’t running for president. The sad reality is if you’ve ever worked in and around the entertainment industry, this is pretty standard language amongst the ‘hetro boys’ in the biz. Not an excuse, just reality.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 10/7/2016 @ 5:39 pm@43. A piece of New York sewer filth.
Be realistic. A Texas cowpie.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 10/7/2016 @ 5:43 pmDana now has a post about it.
Patterico (bcf524) — 10/7/2016 @ 5:46 pmDCSCA
I heard that during the Uboat heyday the freighters carrying fuel or ammo would sleep like babies because one torpedo and they would wake up dead.
The crew of the HMS Hillary sleeps well under their explosive cargo knowing they have a multimedia escort.
Pinandpuller (e2e35f) — 10/7/2016 @ 6:03 pmThis is horrific. We cannot allow this man to become president.- HRC
Could she be a bigger hypocrite?
It appears we may just have four years to find out.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 10/7/2016 @ 6:42 pm@ Rev. Hoagie, #32:
No, it does not. Advice, like any other claim, must be evaluated on its merits. That is what I meant when I said (emphasis added), “The lesson I’m hearing is that it’s better not to take the advice of your most implacable opponents, even if taking it would be in your best interests…” You seem to have missed that crucial second part. Doubting claims (or trusting them) based on the source alone is a natural human impulse. But that doesn’t mean your enemies don’t have things to say worth hearing, and it doesn’t mean your friends can’t be in error. There has only ever been one perfect man, and even Satan can tell the truth.
If a used-car salesman comes up to me, claps his hand about my shoulder, points to a broken-down wreck of an Edsel, and says, “Buy this one, my boy, and it’ll last you a lifetime”…well, of course, only a fool would take that advice. But the car is obviously junk. I wouldn’t take that advice no matter who gave it to me. On the other hand, if my worst enemy walked by and said “Woo boy, I hope you don’t buy that piece of crap, that looks like a real stinker” — well, I’m not going to buy the car to spite him, or because I think he’s trying to mislead me into passing up a good deal.
Why? There is no connection between the two halves of that sentence. Should I doubt my implacable opponent on matters of fact, like a water molecule being composed of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen? Should I doubt him on matters of opinion, like it being a good policy to save part of one’s income? If I always turn right when my enemy says he wants me to turn left, and zig when he says he wants me to zag, can he not maneuver me into destruction simply by saying something different?
People who have already decided who is, and who is not, worth listening to…who can, and who can never, be believed…those are the ones who should never give advice.
You haven’t shown me to be wrong, as I just proved. And you certainly hadn’t shown me to be wrong when I called you uneducated.
My kingdom for an [irony] tag.
Conflation of terms. “Education” =/= “schooling”. Abraham Lincoln was an unschooled man who was nevertheless highly educated. And no, I have no idea what your level of schooling is. Your lack of education, however, speaks for itself.
Demosthenes (09f714) — 10/7/2016 @ 10:24 pm@ Cruz Supporter, #41:
So would Ted Cruz. So would Rick Perry. So would Scott Walker.
So would Hurricane Matthew. Is it too late to run him?
Demosthenes (09f714) — 10/7/2016 @ 10:52 pmThe Putin matter is also going to ccme to a head tonight.
Sammy Finkelman (6e331b) — 10/9/2016 @ 10:00 am