By Florida Bill The 11th Republican debate was held in Detroit and Senators Rubio and Cruz took turns accusing Donald Trump of being a dishonest "con man," who proposed grandiose programs devoid of any sense and substance. They inflicted some damage on the "The Donald," but it was relatively mild compared to the roasting administered by his media adversary Megyn Kelly.
Actually, it was round two between "The Donald" and "Malicious Megyn." Round one may have been Trump's, at least temporarily, but the second round in Michigan clearly belonged to Kelly.
Kelly, a Fox News reporter and host of her own show, "The Kelly File" joined Chris Wallace and Bret Baier in questioning Trump, Rubio, Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich, who are all competing to become the Republican party standard bearer in next November's presidential election.
Trump and Kelly had met six months ago at the Republican's opening debate and they sparred over Kelly's question in which she asked Trump to explain why he had referred to some women as "fat pigs, slobs, dogs and disgusting animals." Trump bristled at the audacity of her asking such a poisonous question, but avoided answering it. Trump continued to castigate her in television interviews and on the social media as a "bimbo, biased and out to get him, and not very good at her job." Kelly was sent on vacation after the debate, and it appeared she had gotten the worse of the exchange.
But in interviews following the debate, Trump followed up his outrage over being questioned about his treatment of women with yet another misogynistic comment.
Trump said the Megyn had "blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her where ever," insinuating that menstruation had caused her to lose control and ask such an unfair and vicious question. However, in the midst of the uproar that followed his unpresidential remarks, Trump insisted nothing about Megyn's period had ever occurred to him during his rant. Not many women seemed to find that credible.
Kelly took the higher road, and in the months following that August "blood" exchange, made no further comments on their feud publicly.
In January, it was announced that Fox would sponsor the 7th Republican debate in advance of the kick off to the Iowa caucus, a pre-presidential voting primary with historical significance. Kelly, whose star was continuing to rise, was named as a panelist. As news of the debate circulated, Trump said "No way" would he participate with the biased, unprofessional Kelly, whom he claimed was out to get him.
He called upon the Fox News station to contribute $5 million to a veteran's charity in exchange for his participation in the debate. The station refused. Bill O'Reilly then had Trump as a guest on his show and importuned him to participate, stating he should not be cowed by Kelly. But despite the prodding, Trump kept his word and declined. Instead he participated in a town meeting event nearby which was successful in raising $6 million dollars for wounded veteran organizations.
Kelly, meanwhile, patiently awaited another turn. That opportunity came at the Detroit debate scheduled as a prelude to the Michigan, Florida and Ohio primary elections.
Trump versus Megyn. It started out pleasantly with Megyn's "Hi Mr. Trump, how are you doing?" Trump replied with a condescending, "Nice to be with you, Megyn; you're looking well. "You too," replied Kelly.
Kelly, an experienced attorney, then grilled Trump and showed films of how he had flip flopped on a number of issues. Trump conceded that he had changed his mind and had become "flexible" and that it was the right thing to do. Just a little damage. Nothing heated.
Rubio, in responding to a question, charged that his opponent's venture, Trump University was a scam which had enrolled thousands of individuals who wanted to develop business acumen and learn the secret of Trump's real estate success. One individual who had paid more than $15,000 to the university had contended that she was suckered and cheated out of her money, all of which led to a class action lawsuit with 5,000 plaintiffs.
Enraged at what he called a false accusation, Trump shouted that the Better Business Bureau had given his venture an A-minus rating and that 98 per cent of the attendees were pleased, not displeased. The lead plaintiff, he said, was dropping out of the suit because "it was bad for her."
Kelly then decided to set the record straight.
She said that the Better Business Bureau had given the school a D-minus rating, not an A-minus, and that you, Mr. Trump, were told to pay the legal fees of an unhappy plaintiff who you sued for defamation and lost. She went on to add that a third of the enrollees who paid thousands of dollars signed statements noting their dissatisfaction and contending they had been "fleeced." Kelly, a lawyer, noted that the Trump countersuit was thrown out by the court which ordered Trump to pay legal fees of nearly $800,000. In a subsequent appeal of that action, Kelly said, the court of appeals found that "the plaintiffs against you are like the Madoff victims" and that "victims of con artists sing the praises of their victimizers until they realize they have been fleeced."
"Gimme a break," blustered Trump, with the white makeup under his eyes starting to look streaky. He argued that the original case against him is actually still pending and urged a wait and see attitude.
Round two with Kelly was now over, with Kelly the clear winner. Not only was she still standing, but she took the battle up a notch by letting the damaging court records do the talking.
Just before the Kelly exchange, Trump was asked by Chris Wallace for his reaction to being called a "fraud" and a phony and a landmark for dishonesty by Mitt Romney who had been the Republican standard bearer in the 2012 Presidential election. Trump responded by calling Romney a "choker" who conducted a terrible campaign and who begged him for his endorsement, which he provided. "He wanted it so bad that he would have dropped to his knees if I had asked him to," bragged Trump, in a fresh exhibition of vulgarity.
All in all it was not a pleasant night for Trump, but it appeared to be favorable to the other candidates and to the media moderators. It was a plus for Cruz (lying Ted, as Trump calls him). At one point, Cruz directed Trump to stop interrupting him and--"breathe deep and count to 10 before you speak." At the conclusion of the two-hour session, all of the contenders promised they would support the nominee, whomever he may be. In the past Trump has hinted at the possibility that he would, "if treated unfairly" become an independent candidate.
At times, however, it seems that no one can slow down the apparently bullet-proof Trump, whose popularity never seems to diminish. At this point Trump has 378 delegates; Cruz has 295; Rubio, 123 and Kasich 34. For the nomination, the magic number to become the nominee is 1,237.
With the Detroit debate behind her, Kelly's political talk show, "The Kelly File" is said to be growing in popularity, and she seems to be winning the admiration of women for standing up to the sexist insults of Trump. In an interview with a late night talk show host, Kelly said that the questions she has asked of Trump have been tough, but then all of the candidates get tough questions. "They all want to be George Washington. I am a member of the press and it is my job to press them to see if they are worthy."
Prediction: You have not heard the last of "Malicious Megyn" and "The Donald."
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