By Susan Tomai
Trump knows what he’s doing, and it works. He has led the discussion since the day he got in the race. Talk about word-of-mouth: he says something offensive, then sits back and watches while the pundits and his opponents use up all their oxygen branding him and giving him millions of dollars’ worth of free exposure.
Journalism is a business, and because The Donald draws the eyeballs and boosts the ratings, reporters cover him – we get that. But what about his opponents? They can’t criticize him as much as they’d like (don’t want to offend that precious base) but they talk about him anyway, further helping him.
Here’s a suggestion to the rest of the GOP field: leave Mr. Trump out of it as you stake out your own territory. Because Trump has played all of you so skillfully so far, we all know where he stands on immigration, terrorism and trade. How about the rest of you? Would the average person-in-the-street know your positions on any of the above? Whether you like what he’s saying or not, Trump’s messages are much more clear and consistent than yours – and time is running out.
Well played, Mr. Trump.
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