USA TODAY International Edition
Trump tactics can trip up debaters
He’s brash and loud, but Clinton must be careful of his subtler side
Donald Trump the debater is famous for calling others on stage “Little Marco” and “Lyin’ Ted,” for mocking Jeb Bush’s energy and Rand Paul’s look, for guaranteeing how big he is.
In 11 primary debates, Trump also displayed less obvious tactics and tendencies that could indicate how he’ll debate Hillary Clinton on Monday at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N. Y., in the first of three contests.
In the primary debates, Trump was on stage for a total of almost 24 hours and spoke for three hours, 20 minutes and seven seconds, a performance that “gives insights into how he could deal with Clinton and she can deal with him,’’ says Aaron Kall, director of debate at the University of Michigan and editor of a new book titled Debating the Donald.
If nothing else, Trump’s primary debates proved him a master of what Alan Schroeder, another expert on presidential debates, calls “the well- executed moment.”
Political wisdom holds that multi- candidate primary debates and one- on- one general election debates are so different that the former can’t tell handicappers or candidates what to expect in the latter.
The audience is generally less vocal and less partisan. There are no commercial breaks. And it’s one- on- one. In her 16- year political career, Clinton has debated
four different opponents in such a format a total of 16 times. In his 16- month political career, Trump has never debated in a group of fewer than four.
Some favorite Trump primary tactics, such as bragging about his big lead in the polls or his selffunding, are no longer available in his upcoming encounters with Clinton. But he probably won’t abandon most of what got him this far.
Here are some key elements of Trump’s primary debate performances: HE HIT HARDEST USUALLY WHEN HE WAS HIT FIRST Trump’s trademark personal attacks usually came in reaction to an attack. He observed a verbal non- aggression pact with Ted Cruz ( that ended once Trump pulled ahead) and never really targeted Chris Christie ( who now heads his transition team).
Trump counterattacked with devastating one- liners. Ask Jeb Bush, who tried to provoke Trump after falling in the polls.
In Las Vegas, Trump said, “You’re trying to build up your energy, Jeb, but it’s not working.” When Bush extolled the virtues of his mother, a Trump critic, Trump shot back, “She should be running.”
When Cruz was asked why he hadn’t attacked Trump, Trump interjected, “You better not attack.” Everyone laughed — but Trump wasn’t kidding. HE WAS UNPREDICTABLE AND INCONSISTENT Primary rivals didn’t know which Trump to prepare for. They never knew which one would show up.
In the first debate, Trump seized the spotlight by ( alone among the candidates) refusing to pledge allegiance to the eventual nominee.
In debate No. 6, he eloquently evoked 9/ 11 to neutralize Cruz’s attack on liberal “New York values.”
In No. 10, he rumbled. He pointed to Rubio on his right and said, “This guy’s a choke artist” and pointed to Cruz on his left and said, “and this guy’s a liar.”
In the last debate, when the nomination was in sight, an almost statesmanlike Trump seemed determined to win the debate simply by not losing it. He exclaimed, “I cannot believe how civil it’s been up here!’’ — reinforcing a tone with which he, that night, was comfortable. HE PLAYED TO CROWD BUT KNEW HIS REAL AUDIENCE Like an actor breaking the stage’s “fourth wall,” Trump liked to ad- dress the audience. Communication went both ways.
In New Hampshire, Trump was jeered after Bush recounted how the developer used eminent domain to tear down an old woman’s house.
Trump claimed the hall was papered: “You know who has the tickets? Donors, special interests.”
Later, when the crowd laughed at his explanation of how he’d replace Obamacare, Trump said, “Part of the reason we have some people laughing ( is) you have insurance people that take care of everybody up here.”
There was no evidence to support either charge, but most of the TV audience — 13.2 million, vs. less than 1,000 in the auditorium — didn’t know that. HE DIDN’T STOP ARGUING WHEN THE DEBATE WAS OVER In interviews and on Twitter, Trump tried to win the after- debate. His personal attack on Fox News’ panelist Megyn Kelly occurred not during the debate but in an interview afterward. He often claimed victory based on instant ( and unscientific) online polls. HE SUBTLY BELITTLED OPPONENTS Everyone remembers the insults and ridicule, but Trump undercut opponents in other ways.
uHe interrupted. Sarah Partlow- Lefevre, Idaho State University’s director of debate, was counting. During one 80- word exchange, Trump interrupted Bush seven times to insist that Bush had said something he was denying.
uHe called opponents by their first names, implying that any criticism wasn’t personal, just the truth, and denied opponents the honor of a title such as “senator.” HE HELD THE FLOOR FOR LONG PERIODS In sports, they call it ball control. Trump simply talked more than his primary opponents.
In his 11 debates, Trump spoke longest six times. Although he sometimes hung back, he never came in less than third. In the key Houston debate Feb. 25, he spoke for 10 minutes more than Cruz, the second most loquacious.
Sometimes he got more questions from media panelists. Sometimes he drew out answers with fillers such as “frankly’’ and “believe me’’ and by pivoting from one topic to another. In the second debate, he was addressing a question about women’s health when he suddenly said, “I’d like to get back to the Iran situation.” HE APOLOGIZED WITHOUT APOLOGIZING In the second debate, Trump paid the price for previously criticizing Fiorina’s looks when she declined to retaliate but said, “I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said.”
Trump tried to end the matter by saying, “I think she’s got a beautiful face, and I think she’s a beautiful woman.” POSTSCRIPT To Kall and others who contributed to Debating the Donald, some lessons for Clinton are clear: Don’t hit unless you’re ready to be hit; steer the debate toward detailed ( and possibly boring) policy discussions; control the clock if you don’t want Trump to; and watch out if he tells you how good you look.