With only a few days remaining until the first GOP presidential debate, the tables appear to have turned. Donald Trump, the always outspoken reality TV star and businessman, has softened his tone, while the candidates struggling for the final spots on the debate stage battle for a position.
On the Sunday talk shows, the three Republican governors fighting for the final two spots in the debate came out swinging. Ohio Gov. John Kasich took on national media, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry made big promises, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie talked about who he would like to punch in the face.
According to RealClearPolitics’ average of polls, Kasich and Christie would appear to meet Fox News’ polling threshold required to make the main stage and Perry would not. The three men are separated by just one percentage point and are within the margin of error in the national polls.
Kasich’s temper appeared to flare at the questions posed by Fox News host Chris Wallace, and the governor playfully threatened to come after the moderator on the debate stage this week.
“You want to go after me in the debate, go ahead,” Wallace responded before continuing his questioning. Kasich proceeded to interrupt him.
When CNN asked New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie who he thinks “deserves a punch in the face,” the governor replied, “the national teacher’s union.”
“They’re not for education for our children,” the governor said. “They are the single most destructive force in public education in America.”
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry chose not to throw any rhetorical punches, but vowed to protect veterans from verbal attacks at all costs and made some large promises. Perry pledged to secure the border and end the Obama administration’s agreement with Iran in a single day, his first day in the White House.
Trump, meanwhile, has spent the past few days lowering expectations for his appearance on the debate stage and said the experience will be new to him. On Thursday, he tweeted his intention to be nice and respectful to the other candidates, but by Sunday he used social media to question whether his fellow candidates were “puppets” for wealthy political donors.
On ABC and CBS’ Sunday morning programs, Trump offered a much more measured tone.
“Don’t forget, I was the fair-haired boy of Republican politics, and even in Democratic politics, I supported everybody,” Trump said via phone on CBS. “I was a very good businessman, now I’m a politician. We’ll find out if I’m a good politician.”
When Trump signed off CBS, he called it a “great honor,” to appear on the program. The show’s panelists were struck by Trump’s different demeanor.
Whether the GOP presidential candidates behave on the debate stage as they did on the Sunday television shows remains to be seen, but National Journal’s Ron Fournier thinks Trump is situated to make even bigger gains Thursday.
“What if Donald Trump in the campaign kind of acts like he did on that phone call? If he’s serious, if he’s substantial, if he’s not being bombastic, it would blow people’s minds,” Fournier said on CBS. “And that’s what he has to do: play against type.”
