This past weekend, we learned that the Republican National Committee put Donald Trump on notice–unless he gets with the program, he’s going to be on his own for the stretch run in October. Apparently the RNC is nervous that its downballot team will get capsized if Trump gets Goldwatered. Well, apparently the Donald didn’t get the memo. He’s retained Roger Ailes to help ready him for the debates, and possibly more.
Four people close to the Trump campaign told The New York Times that Ailes has been helping prepare Trump for the first debate against Hillary Clinton. This move makes sense on paper; Ailes has a sterling reputation as a debate coach in Republican circles. He helped ready Ronald Reagan in 1984 and and George H. W. Bush in 1988.
According to two of those sources, Ailes’ role on the campaign team could potentially grow. That could potentially mean that Trump is ready to go negative in a big way. In a political career stretching over half a century, Ailes has garnered a reputation as a no-holds-barred campaigner.
I have, of course, ignored the 500-pound gorilla in the room. Ailes is currently under investigation for harassing dozens of women over the years, particularly at Fox News. There is also mounting evidence that senior executives were well aware of Ailes’ outrageous and potentially criminal behavior and covered it up. The Murdochs apparently saw enough evidence of Ailes’ debauchery that they forced him to resign on July 21.
You know what the Trump defenders are going to say–we shouldn’t be pillorying Ailes when it hasn’t been proven that he harassed anyone. Au contraire. It says something when the man who built Fox News from nothing is given a “resign or be fired” ultimatum and isn’t even allowed to be in the building on his last day. Surely Trump would have noticed. Moreover, the anecdotes from the women who have spoken up so far–such as Gretchen Carlson, Laurie Luhn, Megyn Kelly, Rudi Bakhitar, and Andrea Tantaros–sound extremely damning.
It’s no secret that Trump needs to rebuild his reputation with women if he is to have any chance of reversing his steep decline in the polls. Seen in this light, Ailes couldn’t possibly be a more tone-deaf choice to add to his team. It’s especially outrageous when you consider that one of Trump’s worst moments in the campaign involves one of Ailes’ victims, Kelly. Last summer, Trump suggested Kelly was being hard on him at a Republican primary debate because she had “blood coming out of her whatever.” There were questions about whether Ailes did enough to defend Kelly at the time. In light of Kelly’s claim that Ailes harassed her, those questions suddenly take on a chilling meaning in hindsight.
Considering that the nation’s late night comedians have effectively declared war on Trump, it shouldn’t be surprising that one of them didn’t take long to put the Donald in his crosshairs. Namely, Trevor Noah of “The Daily Show.” His team crafted this epic send-up of what Ailes’ first prep session with Trump looked like.
Former Fox News chief Roger Ailes is helping Trump with debate prep. Here’s exclusive footage of their 1st meeting.https://t.co/c3tijaWPS3
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) August 16, 2016
NARAL thinks this move is par for the course for the Donald.
Roger Ailes is advising @realDonaldTrump. Yep. Seriously. Him. @KaylieEHanson pic.twitter.com/MLyRoyCxPg
— NARAL (@NARAL) August 16, 2016
And Mother Jones Washington bureau chief David Corn has his own theory about the kind of advice Trump is getting from his new Svengali.
Exclusive: In leaked memo, Roger Ailes advises @realDonaldTrump to dye his hair blond and shave his legs.
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) August 16, 2016
Many Republicans have been waiting in vain for Trump to pivot into general election mode. With this move, it looks like Trump is pivoting, all right–closer to the cliff.
