BREAKING OUT BADLY
An “oops” moment can be politically crippling to any presidential campaign.
Just ask Energy Secretary Rick Perry, the former Texas governor who, in a 2011 debate, blanked on the third agency of government he had said would be “gone” if he became president.
“Commerce, Education and the, uh, what’s the third one there?” Perry said.
“EPA?” fellow Republican Ron Paul offered. Yep, Perry said, the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Oops,” he finished. Perry’s campaign, already struggling, never recovered.
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WHAT ISSUES?
There’s simply no time for an in-depth discussion of issues. But the migrant crisis would be an apt topic, even in shorthand. Dominating the news in the hours before the showdown were vivid reports and images of the toll of the administration’s policy on children, especially.
Expect at least a mention, or perhaps the appearance, of a bracing photo of the bodies of a migrant father and his 23-month-old daughter face-down along the Rio Grande.
In addition to Warren, other candidates, such as Sen. Amy Klobuchar, were visiting the migrant center.
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TRUMP
This is the Democrats’ night.
But Trump has dominated the political conversation since that escalator ride four years ago, and he loathes being upstaged. It’s worth asking: Will he tweet during the debates? And if he does, will NBC and the moderators ignore him or respond in real time?
NBC News executive Rashida Jones said the focus will be on the candidates and the issues.
“Beyond that, it has to rise to a certain level,” she said.
During Wednesday’s debate, Trump will be on Air Force One on his way to the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan. The plane’s cable televisions are usually turned to Fox News, which is not hosting the debates. For the second debate, Trump will be beginning meetings at the G-20.
Trump told Fox Business Network on Wednesday that he’d watch because “it’s part of my life” but that “It just seems very boring. … That’s a very unexciting group of people.”
