Viewer’s Guide: Donald Trump drama, closing arguments before Iowa

It’s one thing to attack Donald Trump when he’s standing on the presidential debate stage. But what about when he’s not? It’s a complicated question for the seven presidential candidates in the seventh prime time Republican presidential debate, who expect a no-show from the front-runner who has eclipsed the contest for months — on the brink of Monday’s Iowa caucuses. Trump has declared that because of what he calls unfair treatment by the network hosting the debate, Fox News Channel, he’ll have his own event at the very same time about two miles away at Drake University. His absence puts the rivals in a tough position while opening potential opportunity — do they go after him and give him even more attention? Or ignore him and fill the vacuum with their best possible closing arguments, grabbing attention that’s been tough to come by when Trump and his big personality fill the air time? Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who is in third place in Iowa, tested a new line Wednesday, calling the debate drama a “sideshow” and the election choices, “serious.” Also in a delicate spot is the network, which has engaged in a fraught relationship with Trump for months after he tangled with moderator Megyn Kelly in the first debate in August. Fox News Channel has refused to remove Kelly from the question panel and issued a sarcastic statement mocking Trump for demanding they do so. The standoff poses a challenge for the network, which is popular with conservatives, over how it handles its relationship with the GOP presidential front-runner in real time — especially in his absence. The main debate stage will once again feature Rand Paul, who was bumped to the undercard debate last time. Also appearing: Sen. Ted Cruz, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Rubio and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. Here are some things to watch for during the debate: TRUMP, OBVIOUSLY Trump’s debate boycott tests whether any word or action by the billionaire can dent his support among a core of conservative voters who want a change in Washington. Trump has predicted that Iowans won’t care whether he attends the debate, and even if he did, he wouldn’t be talking to the nation anyway. He’d be speaking to Iowans who will caucus Monday, using every moment to win the contest at hand. “Being second is terrible,” he has said. Another advantage to holding his own event: no moderators or rivals to challenge him. CRUZ The Texas senator and national debate champion held his own against Trump in past debates as the two have competed for the lead in Iowa. Without Trump on the stage, does Cruz adopt the posture of the de facto debate leader? That could risk looking presumptuous when a sizable percentage of Iowans say they could change their minds about whom they support. Cruz has been testing some humor, with an edge. “Apparently, Megyn Kelly is really, really scary, and Donald is a fragile soul,” Cruz said. “If she asks him mean questions, I mean, his hair might stand on end.” THE MODERATORS Look for someone on the panel of moderators to acknowledge the elephant that’s not in the room. But whether moderators will spend more time than that on Trump, who has spent months in a spat with Kelly over what he says is unfair treatment, is a delicate question. Late Wednesday, Trump tweeted that it was Fox’s mocking press release that inspired him to skip the debate, more so than Kelly. She has been adamant about playing the dispute straight, and has the firm backing of news executives. THE OTHER CANDIDATES Jump ball! The debate gives the field-minus-Trump more of a chance to make the most powerful closing arguments possible in the final face to face, televised meeting before the caucuses. Candidates such as Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who is looking past Iowa for a strong finish in next-up New Hampshire, have had little speaking time in past debates. The opportunity also is ripe for Rubio, who is seeking a strong finish in Iowa to claim the establishment mantle if outsiders Trump or Cruz falter. Look, too, for Bush to try to make gains. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.

Donald Trump not backing down from Fox debate boycott

Donald Trump

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wasn’t backing down Wednesday from his threat to boycott this week’s GOP debate, where candidates have the opportunity to make their closing arguments before voting begins in Monday’s Iowa caucuses. Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said in a pair of television interviews Wednesday that Trump, a billionaire businessman, “knows when to walk away from a bad deal.” “They think they can toy with Mr. Trump,” Lewandowski said of Fox News on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “Mr. Trump doesn’t play games.” The decision comes after a showdown between the network and GOP candidate over who should moderate Thursday night’s debate. Trump has been in a feud with Fox News host and scheduled debate moderator Megyn Kelly since the first Republican primary debate, when Kelly took Trump to task over derogatory statements he’d made in the past aimed at women. While Trump has threatened to skip debates in the past and not gone through with the threat, a sarcastic statement from Fox appeared to push him over the edge. That statement said the leaders of Iran and Russia “both intend to treat Donald Trump unfairly when they meet with him if he becomes president” and that “Trump has his own secret plan to replace the Cabinet with his Twitter followers to see if he should even go to those meetings.” Trump, who has called Kelly a “lightweight” and biased, told reporters at an Iowa press conference Wednesday night that he would be holding a fundraising event in Iowa at the same time as the debate to benefit veterans and wounded soldiers instead. While Fox questioned how “Iowans are going to feel about him walking away from them at the last minute,” Lewandowski said the decision shows Trump is a leader who “understands when a bad deal is in front of him and is ready to walk away from a bad deal, something that this country should be able to do.” “At the end of the day,” he added on MSNBC, “Mr. Trump is going to have the last laugh.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.

Google to launch “candidate cards” feature during Thursday GOP debate

Google is testing a new feature that provides users with unique content from presidential campaigns. As reported by USA TODAY, Google launches “candidate cards” Thursday, an experimental feature that allows both parties to deliver content through a particular window appearing on the result page of searches for related content. Content will include images, text and video in an eight-card carousel controlled by the campaigns. Newer cards will replace older ones on a rotating basis. Cards will offer everything from text snippets to YouTube videos and GIFs, which Google says will load “natively” on a search page – meaning users do not have to click a link to access the content, although there will be embedded links available. “We believe that what a candidate has to say is just as important as what others say about them,” Google product manager Joe Bose told USA TODAY. “This new, experimental feature will now allow searchers to hear directly from presidential candidates right in Google search results — whether it’s their thoughts on an issue, photos from a recent debate or their latest stump speech.” Candidate cards is still in the testing phase, with a possibility of expansion to include content beyond political campaigns. Carousels will be introduced during Thursday evening’s GOP debate, in what Google calls a “parallel debate” cosponsored by Fox News. USA TODAY reporter Paul Singer writes that searches related to the on-stage discussion will automatically get a window featuring cards from candidates, updated in real time both during the undercard and main debate to reflect active questions and answers.

Donald Trump receives endorsement from Sarah Palin

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump received an endorsement from conservative heavyweight Sarah Palin onTuesday. The former Alaska governor, and former running mate of Sen. John McCain in the 2008 presidential race, endorsed the billionaire businessman, Trump’s campaign said in a statement, noting that he is “honored” by the endorsement. The endorsement comes less than two weeks ahead of the critical lead-off Iowa caucus, where Trump is locked in a dead heat with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Palin was a virtual newcomer to the national political arena when McCain picked her as his running mate but has since risen to prominence as one of the most outspoken conservatives in the party. She signed on as a Fox News commentator after resigning as Alaska’s governor in 2010, a job she held until last year. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.

Fox announces date, team for Iowa debate

Fox News Channel says it will host the seventh Republican presidential debate, taking place next month in Des Moines, Iowa, ahead of that state’s caucuses. Fox said Monday that the two-hour debate on Jan. 28 will be anchored by Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace. That’s the same team that moderated the campaign’s first GOP debate in August, which drew a cable news record audience of 24 million people. The sixth debate will be shown on the Fox Business Network on Jan. 14. Criteria for participation will be announced later. The GOP field narrowed on Monday with Sen. Lindsey Graham‘s announcement that he was ending his campaign. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.

Bob Sparks: Mainstream media not the only Trump enablers

Donald Trump

Our country has some serious issues to deal with. The next president must finally confront terrorism both overseas and within our borders. The latest tragic example came on Wednesday in San Bernardino, California. We cannot get this choice wrong. For those of us who believe the best candidates are on the Republican side, GOP voters are far from settled on who they want to face Hillary Clinton. Those tuning in to television political news hear things like “Donald Trump is flying high” or “Trump’s message resonates with frustrated Republicans.”  As if they are casual bystanders, commentators proclaim “Trump is dominating nearly every news cycle.” At least until Wednesday. That pretty well describes what poses for analysis on the GOP side. Every day is like the movie “Groundhog Day.” This is how it works: A new day dawns and Trump has a rally or he gives a reporter or personality an audience at Trump Tower. He skillfully exercises his free speech rights to say something brash about someone or something. To end the day, talking heads or a panel then discuss what Trump did and said earlier. A new day dawns and Trump has a rally … You get the picture. Jeb Bush summed it up perfectly when he said Trump is playing the media “like a fiddle.” The differences come on the few occasions when he fudges the truth. The best example came when Trump said Bush was uttering a falsehood by pointing out Trump had personally lobbied for casinos in Florida. The Bush version was proven to be undeniably true. Honesty does not matter to far too many of those truly committed to Trump. An example from talk radio is useful. Preston Scott hosts a local Tallahassee program called “The Morning Show.” Scott, a bona fide conservative, informed his audience after Trump’s false statement that he could not support someone who lies. Trump and Clinton were disqualified for that reason. Scott then took listeners’ calls and one in particular stood out. When Scott prompted the caller to reveal whom he supports, the caller proudly said “Donald Trump.” He was asked why. “Because he tells it like it is,” the caller said proudly. When Scott reminded him of Trump’s false statement, the caller said it did not matter to him, then repeated his affinity for Trump because he “tells it like it is.” How do you discuss facts and policy with someone whose favorite philosopher is probably Yogi Berra? For those of us who thought Trump would have faded by now, we must admit we were wrong. This leaves us to ponder how he has managed to maintain a plurality. Most of us do not equate bombast with leadership. It is always easy to blame the “mainstream” media, but this time they deserve their fair share of it. Trump, the quote factory/fiddler, makes it too easy for them. Perhaps a bigger reason he continues to be relevant is his treatment from the conservative media, even Fox News commentators. Listen to Eric Bolling of “The Five” defend Trump some time. Rush Limbaugh, perhaps the most trusted voice among conservatives, has basically been an enabler for the charade. He has not officially endorsed Trump, but has not called him out for his shortcomings, either. Trump routinely disparages those who disagree with him in a manner similar to that of President Obama. Trump is telegraphing how he would govern. Conservative media, and in some cases the mainstream, has rightfully criticized the divisive rhetoric coming from our president during the past seven years. Why the silence now? Limbaugh is far from alone among enablers, but he carries the most clout with GOP primary voters. With conservative media demanding precious little accountability, who is there to speak to the huge majority of those who do not support Trump? Perhaps the Trump act will finally wear thin and those chronicling the election of the next leader of the free world will take things more seriously. We get it that left-leaning media celebrates every day Trump is on top, but the events of Wednesday reaffirm that we must focus on real issues. How many sensational headlines or “did you hear what Trump said” blogs or stand-ups from Trump Tower will finally be enough? Hopefully, those deciding what news is will not wait until March before becoming bored with the circus. Did you hear that Trump, registered 27 percent in the Quinnipiac poll this week? It’s true. He is ahead, but three out of four voters either don’t care or want someone else, but one would be hard pressed to hear that reality described in the analysis. “Trump soars … in latest Quinnipiac poll” reads one headline from a Florida paper. “Trump builds his lead” declares a mainstream national publication. Enablers to the right of us; enablers to the left of us. Bob Sparks is a business and political consultant based in Tallahassee. 

CBS hopes debate coverage will boost streaming service

Democratic debate 2015

CBS News sees its coverage of Saturday’s Democratic presidential debate as a key moment in helping to establish CBSN, the streaming service that just celebrated its first birthday. Political reporter Major Garrett will host a preview of the debate an hour before it begins on CBSN. The free service will stream the debate live, accompanied by data and tweets provided by Twitter, with Garrett stepping in with reactions during commercial breaks of the televised contest. It is also being shown on the broadcast television network. CBSN, which launched Nov. 6, 2014, provides a continuous newscast and also allows users to click on streams of individual stories. It is available on the CBS News website, on the network’s mobile apps and through services like Apple TV, Roku and Android TV. Starting this week, it can also be seen on Xbox One. “What this has to be to be a success if to be completely ubiquitous, that everybody who is delivering live news content has to be distributing us,” said CBS News President David Rhodes. CBS views it as the future of video news, a generation removed from cable news networks. The average age of a CBSN viewer is just under 40, considerably younger than the traditional television news demographic, the Nielsen company said. It is younger by three years for people watching on Internet-connected televisions. For now, the service is unique to CBS. Rhodes said he believes competitors like CNN, Fox News and MSNBC are reluctant to try something similar because potential users would be put off by having to go through cable companies to use the service. “If we make a go of this and it becomes a commercial success, I think you will see others try to get into it,” he said. “I think we would welcome that because it’s a validation of our strategy.” While the network does not say how many people use CBSN, Rhodes said he expected it will get more views Saturday night than ever before. Usage tends to spike around major news events, he said. Oddly, the service has done well before, during and after previous presidential debates, which Rhodes found surprising considering CBSN did not stream them. The service has offered ongoing discussions about the debates while they were happening with occasional highlights, and Rhodes speculated it appeals to cord-cutters who have no traditional TV service. This Saturday, network executives anticipate CBSN will be used as a second screen for many people already watching the debate on the broadcast network. Garrett said he’ll be helping to curate the Twitter feed that will appear on the CBSN screen. “That’s part of the experiment,” he said. “Everyone associated with social media is trying to figure out — how do you make it meaningful and not just noisy?” Because of social media, the “spin room” that existed after debates is now in operation while the event is still going on. Garrett will use the broadcast commercial breaks to show how campaign aides are trying to shape the stories. Garrett, who worked at both CNN and Fox News Channel, had anticipated a more structured environment at CBS with newscasts in the morning and evening broadcasts. CBSN takes him back to his cable days where there is much more time to fill; fewer commercials mean discussions can go even longer at CBSN. His children — ages 20, 19 and 15 — provide him with a daily reminder of the importance of CBSN. Their dad works in TV but they rarely see him there. They catch him in clips that are linked on social media. “The digital platform is essential for the fate of broadcast network news,” he said. “We have to be in that space.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.

Donald Trump says ads are coming to early-voting states

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says he’s finally planning to put some money on the line as several of his rivals receive new attention and support. The billionaire businessman, who has so far relied on the news media to promote his unorthodox campaign, said in an interview Tuesday night on Fox News that his campaign will begin paid advertising soon in the first states to vote in the GOP nomination race. “We’re going to start some ads, I think, over the next two days,” he said in the interview with Fox’s Sean Hannity. “Certainly in Iowa, we’re going to start ads, and in New Hampshire and, I think, in South Carolina, too. So, we’re going to start advertising a little bit.” Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for more details about the timing or how much Trump planned to spend. His campaign had not reserved any television advertising time as of Tuesday, according to Kantar Media’s CMAG advertising tracker. Trump said in early October that he had ads in the works, but in the weeks since has said he didn’t think they were necessary given how much attention he’s already given and the potential for Trump overload. Despite Trump’s boasting that he self-funds his campaign, the vast majority of the cash he has spent so far has come from donor contributions. Still, he has spent far less than many of his rivals — thanks, he’s said, to the fact that he hasn’t had to spend millions on paid ads. “I was going to have spent $25 million by this time. I’ve spent nothing. I feel guilty because I’ve spent nothing ’cause, we haven’t needed it,” he said Tuesday. “But we’re going to start spending a little bit of money over the next three or four weeks.” Trump dominated opinion surveys throughout the summer, but several of his rivals have been garnering new attention from voters and donors this fall. To those who may be thinking about going after him with negative ads, he added a warning. “Look, anybody that hits me, we’re going to hit them 10 times harder,” he said. “We’re going to just dollar-for-dollar, we’re going to go after them. We have more money than anybody else by a factor of about 1,000.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.

Rupert Murdoch suggests Barack Obama isn’t ‘real black president’

Barack Obama

The founder of the global News Corp. media empire, Rupert Murdoch, is suggesting that President Barack Obama isn’t a “real black president.” Murdoch was praising Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson and his wife on Twitter Wednesday evening when he wrote: “Ben and Candy Carson terrific. What about a real black President who can properly address the racial divide?” Later, Murdoch recommended a New York magazine article asking whether Obama has done enough for the African-American community. Murdoch is the founder of Fox News Channel, and News Corp’s publications include The New York Post and The Wall Street Journal. The 84-year-old Murdoch has praised Carson on Twitter before, calling him “irreproachable on background, achievements, character, vision.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.

Donald Trump gives Russia’s Vladimir Putin an ‘A’ on leadership

Donald Trump Vladimir Putin

One day after President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin made little headway in their standoff over Syria at their first formal meeting in more than two years, Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump is agreeing with Putin on his backing of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Speaking on Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” Tuesday evening, the billionaire businessman and presidential front-runner praised Russia’s recent military buildup in Syria and expressed little concern for Putin’s support for his longtime Syrian ally. “If he wants to fight ISIS, let him fight ISIS,” Trump said in an interview taped at his Trump Tower skyscraper in Manhattan. “I say there’s very little downside with Putin fighting ISIS,” he added. The U.S. has long insisted that Syria’s future cannot include Assad. But Putin has cast Assad’s government as the best defense against Islamic State militants, a group the U.S. is also working to defeat. Trump also suggested that Assad, who has used barrel bombs and chemical weapons against civilians, was preferable to other potential options. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump talks about his tax plan during a news conference, Mo … “Personally, I’ve been looking at the different players and I’ve been watching Assad, Trump said, ” … and I’m looking at Assad and saying maybe he’s better than the kind of people that we’re supposed to be backing because we don’t even know who we’re backing. We have no idea.” Obama and Putin have a tense relationship that was on full display as the pair met at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Trump has long predicted that he would get along well with Putin and declared Monday that, “Putin is a nicer person than I am.” He repeated his criticism that Putin is the better leader when compared with Obama. “I will tell you that, in terms of leadership, he’s getting an ‘A’ and our president is not doing so well,” he said. “They did not look good together.” It was Trump’s first appearance on Fox since he announced last week that he’d be boycotting the network for “the foreseeable future” because of what he deemed unfair treatment. The boycott lasted less than a week. Republished with permission of the Associated Press. 

Marco Rubio calls opponent Donald Trump ‘touchy and insecure’

Marco Rubio Donald Trump

Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio jabbed billionaire businessman Donald Trump as “touchy and insecure” on Thursday, joining the chorus of Trump critics who have intensified pressure on the GOP front-runner in recent weeks. The Florida senator also challenged Trump’s command of the issues during an interview with Kentucky Sports Radio, the most widely listened-to sports talk show in the state. Before Thursday, Rubio was among the few Republican White House hopefuls who largely avoided engaging with Trump. A day earlier, Trump had called Rubio a “lightweight” while campaigning in South Carolina and criticized his lack of foreign policy experience. The former reality television star has lashed out at several Republican rivals in a campaign consumed by personal attacks at times. Breaking his silence on Trump, Rubio responded Thursday that the real estate mogul relies on attacking people. “He had a really bad debate performance last week. He’s not well informed on the issues. He really never talks about issues and can’t have more than a 10-second soundbite on any key issue,” Rubio said. “I think he’s kind of been exposed a little bit over the last seven days and he’s a touchy and insecure guy. So that’s how he reacts and people can see through it.” Appearing later on the Fox News program “The O’Reilly Factor” Rubio repeated his jabs against Trump when pressed by host Bill O’Reilly if the GOP front-runner has enough “depth” to deal with major issues facing the country. “He can’t have a conversation about policy because, quite frankly, he doesn’t know anything about policy,” said Rubio, who asserted that Trump’s “foreign policy apparently is a secret he can’t tell us because he doesn’t want to reveal it to the enemy.” Rubio is one of several Republican presidential candidates taking an interest in Kentucky since the state party voted to have a presidential caucus on March 5 instead of its traditional primary in May. The shift allows Republican contender Rand Paul, the state’s junior U.S. senator, to work around a state law banning candidates from appearing on the ballot twice in the same election. Paul, who is up for re-election in November, paid the state GOP $250,000 to cover the cost of the shift. The caucus has generated interest from other candidates given Paul’s continued slide in the polls and the caucus’ unusual rules that allow candidates to claim delegates with as little as 5 percent of support. Thursday, Republican candidate Jeb Bush visited Louisville for a state party fundraiser and became the first candidate to pay the $15,000 filing fee to participate in the caucus. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.

Off the air: Donald Trump boycotts Fox News over campaign coverage

Donald Trump says he’s done appearing on Fox News shows for the “foreseeable future” because he doesn’t like the network’s coverage of his presidential campaign. The billionaire businessman and leading Republican candidate tweets that Fox News has been treating him “very unfairly” and that he’s stop appearing on its shows. Trump has been feuding with the network since first GOP primary debate, when he objected to the moderators’ questions. There was a brief detente. But the feud escalated this week, with Trump tweeting and retweeting complaints about the network and hosts, including Megyn Kelly. Trump has become a constant presence on cable news shows and often phones in to share his thoughts. A Fox spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.