In his indispensible newsletter, the Transom, Ben Domenech makes a profound observation about tonight’s debate: The best way to become the “Not Trump,” is to beat Trump. And the way to beat him isn’t to argue that he’s a meanie or detail his ideological inconsistencies. It’s to go full-alpha and nuke him from orbit.
Here’s the thing: you don’t beat frontrunners by ignoring them. You beat them by beating them. That means mercilessly pummeling them on every front—in ads, in the mail, and in debates. The strategy of beating Trump by ignoring him and pretending he will go away has been a complete disaster for the party. The only time any damage has been done to Trump in a debate was by Jeb Bush on his way out the door, finally getting under Trump’s skin and prompting an outburst that knocked his South Carolina performance down a few points. I also think it’s silly to make the case against Trump on non-Trumpian terms. Going after Trump on ideological inconsistency doesn’t speak the language of his supporters and is ignored by them. Battling Trump on stage should be done in the language of Trump: vicious, sustained personal attacks that are designed to get under his skin and provoke an outburst that makes him look weak. His appeal is inherently stylistic, so that style should be used against him. Mock him. Mock his orange skin, his business failures, his need to buy friends because no one likes spending time with him. What kind of loser pays people to go to his wedding? This may seem unpresidential in the scheme of things. But it is not the case in this cycle. Going after Trump on Trump’s term will require behaving in a way that any traditionally minded person will find appalling—but it would make for must see TV. Take the flamethrower to him. Interrupt him constantly. Belittle him. Insult him. Play on his very obvious insecurities. Give him a nickname—just start calling him “Marla”, without any explanation, and pretend you don’t even realize it. Don’t let him talk. Bash him for hiring foreign workers. Bash him for loving Planned Parenthood. Bash him for his obsession with Megyn Kelly. Make note of his stubby fingers and small hands—we all know what that means. When he responds with ever-increasing insults and shushing, tell him to go get his shinebox.
I love the Parcellian idea of referring to Trump as “Marla.” And I halfway believe that if either Cruz or Rubio told Trump to go get his shinebox, they’d be the nominee.
