I think Trump knows exactly what he is doing in picking a fight with Fox news.

[redgreenandblue]

It is basically an alpha brawl and it is a "win all, lose all" thing. If he can "win" against Fox he will have firmly established himself as the pack leader in the eyes of the far right. It means he will be more powerful and more dangerous than ever before.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

1. Interesting theory. It's pretty bold too. My wingnut inlaws have programmed

their TV never to land on MSNBC or CNN - which tells you how much they LOVE
Fox.

Was Meghan Kelly beloved by them? I don't know - but can't wait to ask them.

[Locrian]

2. Fox

Fox has to be worried that they can't promote the chosen koch-backed clown - be it walker or bush etc.
If trump can shut them down (fox) - he shuts down his competitors propaganda machine.

He's a wild card - if he can use typical fox tactics - it becomes a battle of who can throw the feces the farthest and win the pissing contest.

[madokie]

3. tRump will never be president

not of this country anyway
tRump is building up his name and thats what this is about more than anything. imo

[FormerRepublicanNow]

10. I would not be so sure of that

If the economy crashes before the election, as I fear it will, there will be an awful lot of angry people. Donald, the wild one, life blood is anger.

He makes all the other Republican candidates look like wimps, but I believe both Hillary and Bernie can stand up to him. Joe can not and Martin can not.

But if the economy crashes, people will just blame the president and his party.

[madokie]

12. The economy is not going to crash

for starters. right now he has a favorable rating from less than 15 percent of American. He'll never be President

[FormerRepublicanNow]

15. I hope you are right about the economy, but get back to me in Oct

There is more then a year before the election. Trump is the way people are saying they are mad as hell and they are not going to take it any more. Favorable rating can go up if people think the economy is in the crappier, and we need a strong leader. Remember Hitler was elected when Germany's economy was in the crappier.

[rtracey]

19. funny

I recall somewhat the same words said pertaining to Mr Obama and Romney... Lets see, I recall if the economy was bad and the people are angry, there is NO WAY Romney will lose. He is winning by a landslide, as many predicted.

[FormerRepublicanNow]

24. It is the trend in the economy which is important

In 2012 the economy was headed up. People were mad, but they were directing much of it at Romney and his 47%. If the election was held today, I believe the Democrats would win because the economic trend is up. But in economics a year is a very long time.

As of now Republicans are reduced to this hope: "Today, like it or not, you do need a celebrity, just as in 1828 you needed someone who appealed to the "common man" (Jackson) and in 1904 you needed someone not controlled by Mark Hannah (TR). Reagan owed some, perhaps much, of his success to the fact that he was an actor and was known by many people".

This explains why Trump is winning the Republican horse race, but he can only win the GE if the economy crashes, once interest rates are "normalized"

[rtracey]

29. well

there is still one year before elections, so anything can happen, but what is for sure, Trump will continue to spread his fear-mongoring, immigration, wall-building, very similar to Nazi propaganda talk, and the uneducated masses will still listen.

[onecaliberal]

27. There is zero chance for him to win without Latino and black folks.

Both of those groups of folks loathe frump.

[FormerRepublicanNow]

28. I hope you are right, we shall see

[onecaliberal]

34. Ask president Romney.

[Agnosticsherbet]

30. There are 31 states controled by Republican governors

There are 33 states where Republicans control the state Senate.
There are 33 states where Republicans control the state House of Representatives.

https://www.multistate.com/state-resources/governors-legislatures

This provides a natural advantage for Republicans. If Trump wins, the party will back him, and in a majority of states they control the election process.

[Agnosticsherbet]

32. Something is very wrong with voting in Kansas. (Another DU thread)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017289467

This is another reason why Trump could win, especially if you add the states where Republicans control the process.

[titaniumsalute]

4. My thoughts

We tend to call all of the Fox Guests and viewers "sheep" on here. The guests all kind of parade in (Senators, Reps, Govs, candidates, etc.) and like sheep mostly same the same thing...play along with the hosts. Trumo isn't, and never has been, a sheep. He likes to act like a bull or a lion. He likes to stand out, stir the pot, make everyone in the room uncomfortable. That is what he is doing to Fox and the Republican establishment. Hard to tell how serious he is but I think he is having a blast making EVERYONE squirm.

[Cosmocat]

7. Yep, hes a bit of an anti social personality

That is part of their nature, instinctively putting people on edge.

It would not always work , in fact it normally wouldnt.

But, it started to hit a cord this go around, he sensed it and has been hammering it ever since.

He is a big part of it blooming, but there is something deeper at play that is to his advantage for what he is and what he is doing.

Still a long way to go, but the republican primary electorate is completely rejecting all of the establishment candidates.

Jeb is hanging on w life support, but most polls have fiorina and carson in the top five, carson is trump light fiorina not bombastic, but like thise two never held office.

Have we ever seen a major party primary where you had this many candidates and the voters giving so much support to non office holders?

[customerserviceguy]

5. I've suspected something like that

He figures it will give him credibility with independents in a general election, if he can say, "Fox News didn't make me, so they don't own me."

[Fast Walker 52]

6. I agree-- and I would love if Fox News is taken down a few notches

[kag]

8. Did you see Frank Rich on Rachel tonight?

He tossed out the theory that Ailes and Trump made up the whole "feud". It helps them both.

[enough]

9. I have thought this from the beginning. Both sides love it. It feeds their ratings, all kinds of free

publicity, everybody talking about it all the time. Brings "drama" into their totally stale shtick.

What gets me is that everybody seems to buy into the idea that there's something significant in this so-called feud.

[nxylas]

11. How does it help Fox?

The wingnuts seem to be abandoning Fox News for being "mean" to Trump, delicate flower that he is No, the "alpha dog" theory seems more plausible to me.

[n2doc]

17. Have their ratings gone down?

I haven't seen evidence for that. Trump is the latest 'reality TV' show. I'll bet ratings have gone up.

[nxylas]

20. You're right, I just checked

I guess all the wingnuts saying "I'll never watch Fox News again" were full of shit, as usual.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

14. lol, told my wife the same thing right after the feud started.

[redgreenandblue]

16. "Pro Wrestling" nt

[mikeysnot]

18. Complete theater.

Just like the whole stations programming.

[dembotoz]

13. he wants to be the outsider insider

the populist wingnut

[Whiskeytide]

21. Someone up thread touched on it...

...Fox is set to back the Koch candidate. With their money and Fox support, they could be formidable. Trump is trying to take Fox down a notch as a preemptive strike. Actually a brilliant strategy. It'll be interesting to see if it works.

[lame54]

22. I don't think Trump thinks that far ahead...

I think he follows where his mouth takes him

[Whiskeytide]

23. I'm not so sure...

... His outrageous demeanor is not what I'm looking at. I suspect it is 90% a put on anyway.

But pay attention to the themes of his campaign. He attacks the other candidates in their weakest underbelly. His speeches are disjointed to anyone actually listening, but they are full of buzzwords that connect with his target audience. I think he concluded that 30-35% of the republican base is batshit crazy, hates traditional government and politics as usual, worships wealth, and is scared shitless of "others". He has positioned himself as their standard bearer. That 30-35% could very well carry him to the nomination if enough also-rans stay in the race to the late primaries, diluting the votes so that he remains in the lead. He's just playing the numbers.

He's a complete, unadulterated ass. But I think he's very smart, and knows exactly what he's doing.

[lame54]

26. you are giving him too much credit - but...

as far as him sewing up the nomination? - I'm counting on it

[Mass]

25. Both need ratings. This is all this is about.

If the media were stopping covering Trump like that and started covering him like any candidate, his appeal would fall. Right now, he is getting not only the white supremacist and the jingoist side of the party, but also those who have no clear opinion but want to express an opinion, and therefore will always side with the front-runner.

The main reason Trump restarted being obnoxious is that, this week-end and Monday, the media talked about something else or stated that the AL rally went below expectations. He needs the attention. The media are too happy to give him the attention.

[d_legendary1]

31. I agree with you

Trump isn't a complete dumbass. He's milking this for what its worth. His hate speech is resonating much better with the right wing base than anyone could have imagined. He's first and foremost an opportunist followed by a "celebrity billionaire". Although he's on top, a turd in a toilet bowl no matter how big the size is still a turd.

[leftynyc]

33. Well I did read somewhere

that Megyn Kelly has the highest ratings in the money demo of all of cable news. That's from this week so he's not hurting her at all. I frankly couldn't care less about either one of them.