Wednesday was a good day for Donald Trump, a reminder of why we shouldn’t underestimate him. It’s not that he did or said anything particularly different – he just did his old thing in a more effective way.
By hammering home a tough message on immigration, he gets back to the basics and reminds us why he won the primaries.
First, Trump flew down Mexico way to discuss his plans for a wall with President Enrique Pena Nieto. The statement he gave afterwards was measured and well delivered, full of praise for the “amazing” and “spectacular” people of Mexico (Trump’s efforts at diplomacy read like a TripAdviser review) and he avoided the subject of who would pay for the gargantuan structure.
But they’re missing the point. Trump’s poll slide is less to do with his issues than the perception that he’s unfit for the presidency. Show him doing the job and not doing it too badly and, like Reagan in 1980, he hopes to allay fears and convince people it’s worth taking a gamble on him.
Whether or not this can make any difference is a tough call for a columnist to make. But the Clinton campaign should be wary of allowing Trump to set the agenda again. Hillary, it seems to many people, has gone into hiding and is relying upon negative campaigning.
Trump, by contrast, is flying down to Mexico and laying out a concrete vision for the country. That vision is a fantasy: the wall would be so absurdly costly and politically difficult that its construction would class it as one of the wonders of the postmodern world.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
