The fur was flying on All In with Chris Hayes this afternoon. A.J. Delgado, senior adviser to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, butted heads with Rick Wilson, GOP strategist and senior adviser to independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin, and it got UGLY.
‘The Last Twitches Of A Dying Animal’
Chris Hayes wasted no time in diving into Trump’s strategy with voters. He referred to the GOP candidate as someone who is in the “Breitbart cul-de-sac,” no doubt talking about the alternate reality in which Trump seems to dwell. Hayes said he needs to stop doing things like:
“… inviting Malik Obama to troll the president, to sort of pump up his base…”
A.J. Delgado didn’t like the trolling comment and referred to Malik Obama as a “voter of interest” – despite the fact that the GOP hated him until he started stumping for Trump. She also said all allegations against Trump have been “debunked” (note: they haven’t).
Rick Wilson came in at that point and called the Trump campaign, in its current state, is like “the last twitches of a dying animal.” He also said Steve Bannon, the alt-right nutjob who is now the campaign CEO, is:
“… Trying to poke this bear one last time to get it to do something that doesn’t result in political disaster.”
He referred to Malik Obama’s invitation as “stuntcasting” that is a sorry attempt to “rattle Hillary Clinton.” He then went on to talk about how the Trump campaign is crashing to the ground, fast.
Delgado shot back with:
“… We’re up a point in Rasmussen …”
That’s false.
“… We’re up in Ohio …”
That depends on which poll you use.
Of course, I thought Trump didn’t care about polls?
‘Batshit Bonkers Crazy’
Things really got ugly when Delgado attempted to pivot to “the issues.” Though Hayes welcomed the change in dialogue, Wilson pointed out that Trump has run a:
“… Completely fact-free and issue-free campaign.”
Delgado was rattled by that statement, and said Donald Trump is the only candidate with a policy on trade (false).
And that’s when Wilson blew his top:
“His policy is a completely batshit, bonkers, crazy, protectionist trade plan that would lead to an economic global disaster!”
Remember, folks – this guy is a GOP strategist.
Wilson Says GOP Needs Trump ‘Like They Need Herpes’
Hayes tried to reign in his guests by asking when Trump was going to start talking about issues in the debates. Wilson, who seems to know more about debating than Trump (and really, who doesn’t?), mentioned “bridging,” which is a debate technique in which the debater can build on the question asked by tying it in to something they really want to talk about. He then pointed out that, rather than pivot to issues in the debates, Trump tends to pivot to things like “Crooked Hillary” and called Trump “jerky” and “idiotic.”
Wilson kept going on about Trump for a while, but then Hayes brought it back to Delgado. He asked if she felt the GOP was trying to sabotage Trump. She said no, that they’re “working well” together, which is … interesting.
She then said:
“Republicans need Donald Trump. They need Donald Trump’s base … It’s the GOP that needs Trump.”
Wilson is heard laughing riotously off-camera, and later said:
“Let’s move back on one thing you said a minute ago — ‘Republicans need Donald Trump.’ They need Donald Trump like they need herpes.”
Well … I think that’s a pretty good take on the state of the GOP these days.
Watch the full interview here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNV_1HAx49g
Featured Image via screenshot from Mediaite video
