How Donald Trump was set up by the Republican establishment at last night's debate...

[kentuck]

http://www.vox.com/2016/2/13/10987776/republican-debate-audience-booing

<snip>
Something very peculiar happened at the Republican debate on Saturday night: When Donald Trump talked, the audience booed. Yet when Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and even John Kasich talked, they got loud cheers and applause.

This happened again and again. It even led a spike in Google searches for "Why are people booing?"

Trump, at one point, scoffed that the audience was made up of "Jeb [Bush]'s special interests and lobbyists."

It turns out this may not be that far-fetched. Prior to the debate, the Republican Party decided not to use a lottery system to decide who should be in the audience. Instead, most tickets went to elected Republican officials, donors, and other workers for the party picked by local, state, and national party officials. The result, it seems, is the room was packed with Republican voters who overwhelmingly dislike Trump.

...more

[applegrove]

1. Yup. That is what it looked like.

[Qutzupalotl]

2. Trump pointed out that very thing at the last debate.

He talked about the "donor class" and pointed to the audience, to loud boos. He didn't care and said "I don't need your money."

[Hydra]

3. *lmao*

Asshole version of Bernie.

[Gman]

4. That will only make Trump voters more adamant

Imagine the reaction of Sanders supporters if the same thing was done to him.

[LiberalElite]

7. You are absolutely Goddamned right nt

[roguevalley]

5. the problem with their machinations is this, he is going up in SC he's passing 42%.

they're so stupid. They should keep doing it.

[Quixote1818]

6. Huffington Post reported the same thing

As word of this gets out it will backfire on the GOP

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gop-debate-audience-trump_us_56bff757e4b0b40245c6fa75

[denem]

8. The boo-birds allowed Trump to unleash on GWB

It was a mistake.

Any Republican audience would have booed that, but here it made no difference. Trump grabbed the opportunity.