Donald
Trump's round one debate performance was the stuff of nightmares
for campaign managers. He was inarticulate, flustered, showed
anger, bogged down on Iraq and birther comments, demonstrated no
command of issues, and, on four occasions by my count, agreed with
Clinton on policy points.
Instead
of attacking Hillary for being a habitual liar and career
criminal, Trump tangled with Lester Holt, a network
liberal and Clinton supporter, stayed on the defensive, and left the
stage with his family in tow and tail between his legs.
However,
Trump is a proven master of political theater. He
prefers being underestimated, written off, laughed at, and
told he has no chance. This has been, remember, the central
ingredient of his candidacy that displaced 16
professional politicians during the Republican primary.
Hillary
Clinton, in the eyes of Trump, is simply another Jeb Bush/John
Kasich 90s political regurgitation to be baited, trapped, and exposed as a repeated fraud on the electorate.
What
does this have to do with active shooting mitigation, guns,
and the Second Amendment? Nothing or
everything, come 8 November, depending how Trump does in the next two debates where I expect he will decisively win.
