Donald Trump reignited his war with Megyn Kelly and Fox News last night when he fired off a series of tweets that made it clear he wasn’t about to forget what he believes was rough treatment by Kelly at the GOP debate 19 days ago.
Kelly returned from an 11 day vacation last night and, following the airing of her show, The Kelly File, Trump let loose with a few haphazardly aimed volleys.
I liked The Kelly File much better without @megynkelly. Perhaps she could take another eleven day unscheduled vacation!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2015
“@bigpaulfla: @realDonaldTrump She has come back looking like Nancy Grace”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2015
“@mstanish53: @realDonaldTrump @megynkelly The bimbo back in town . I hope not for long .”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2015
“The bimbo back in town”? I’d say any other candidate who used that term to describe any woman would be on a train back to Hoboken by day’s end. But Teflon Don isn’t just another candidate — he’s immune to gaffes. Meanwhile, a tipping point may have been reached with Fox News. The high-profile meeting between Trump and Fox News President Roger Ailes, where a truce was declared between the warring parties, has apparently gone for naught as Fox personalities let loose with a few of their own attacks on Trump.
It’s been 19 days since the debate- @realDonaldTrump has made his feelings clear. But THIS needs to stop http://t.co/8BmVPZTGdp #let-it-go
— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) August 25, 2015
i like @realDonaldTrump but his personal & professional attacks on @megynkelly r unwarranted-unacceptable- has 2 stop- @foxandfriends
— Brian Kilmeade (@kilmeade) August 25, 2015
Indeed, it’s puzzling why Trump would attack someone with a nightly audience that exceeds by a factor of 10 the total number of fans who have jammed the candidate’s rallies since he announced his run for the presidency. Like Mark Twain said, “Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.” Trump should avoid continuing a feud with the most popular personality on cable news. The only explanation I can think of is that Trump believes his support increases the more he is seen as being under attack — under siege if you will — by the powers that be.
Allahpundit has his own thoughts:
I can think of two explanations and the one you prefer will depend on whether you think Trump operates largely via unthinking ego or wily media savvy. Explanation one: It’s pure hubris. He’s soaring in the polls, he’s (sort of) filling football stadiums with devotees, and he’s the hottest ticket on cable news. He could pick up the phone at any time of day or night and instantly get put on the air on CNN, MSNBC, or Fox. Maybe he figures he’s so bulletproof right now that he can take on Roger Ailes, the most powerful man in conservative media, and win. What’s the worst that can happen? If Fox cuts him off, he’ll spend the next six months doing daily call-ins on CNN and MSNBC about what a loser network full of overrated losers Fox is.
Explanation two: It’s all part of his anti-establishment game. Trump’s core message to Republican voters is that powerful interests, including and especially interests that are ostensibly allied with them on the right like the GOP leadership in Washington, aren’t really looking out for them. On the contrary, those interests routinely sell out the concerns of their base in order to please their wealthy benefactors. Immigration is the ultimate example. A war with Fox will slide easily into that narrative. Apart from a few Trump loyalists like Hannity, he’ll say, Ailes and his network have been bought and sold by the same donor-class losers who are backing Bush and Rubio. They’re an establishment outfit that shouldn’t be patronized by conservatives who want “real change” in Washington. Fox’s leverage against an antagonist like that would normally be to cut him off entirely, but like I say, Trump’s the biggest name in media right now. He doesn’t need Fox to get a TV megaphone. And if Fox takes him on by cutting coverage of Trump way back and unleashing its hosts to excoriate him, it’ll only seem to prove Trump’s point that the network has an anti-populist agenda (with Trump himself being the avatar of populism in this formula). He’ll be frozen out of Fox forever as a guest, in all likelihood, but he’s already lost various media jobs in the course of running for president. What’s one more?
Making enemies because it boosts your standing with the base may work fine in the short term, but what about after the primaries? And what about governing? Is Trump going to go around bashing the “establishment” and then expect these same politicians to grovel before him when he wants to get something done after he’s elected?
I seriously doubt whether Donald Trump is thinking that far ahead. If he wants to take on the world, that’s fine. But is Trump prepared for the world to fight back?
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