Attack against Megyn Kelly could hint at core of Donald Trump鈥檚 appeal
For a presidential candidate, Donald Trump takes personal feuds to an extreme. But is that belligerence the very core of his appeal?
That鈥檚 a question that arises out of the latest Trump imbroglio. He鈥檚 attacking Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly again, weeks after she questioned him sharply about his descriptions of women at the first Republican presidential debate.
Ms. Kelly returned from vacation to her Fox show 鈥淭he Kelly File鈥� Monday night, and Mr. Trump used that occasion to dish out vitriol. that he liked her show better without her and that perhaps she should take more time off. He then retweeted a message from an admirer that called Kelly a 鈥渂imbo.鈥�
Fox News chief Roger Ailes issued a response, calling Trump鈥檚 attack 鈥渁s unacceptable as it is disturbing.鈥� to apologize. The Donald zinged back almost immediately.
鈥淚 do not think Megyn Kelly is a quality journalist,鈥� he said.
Why is this happening now? Maybe the whole thing is a sham fight that will benefit both sides, leading up to an inevitable Trump appearance on her show. We doubt that, though, since the Fox News folks are rallying around Kelly, calling on Trump to back down. The whole thing has a Sharks versus Jets anger about it.
鈥淚s this guy a seven-year-old?鈥� , in apparent wonderment.
Trump did not have to engage in this dispute, after all. Kelly鈥檚 time off the air gave him plenty of room to let things cool. But he chose to reignite the flame on purpose. Perhaps that鈥檚 the core of Trump鈥檚 voter appeal: It鈥檚 centered on a desire for conflict.
There鈥檚 no obvious ideological or demographic component in his voter base, after all. He gets a degree of support from all parts of the GOP spectrum. That means that to some extent, it is Trump鈥檚 personality that is the core of his appeal. And that personality is nothing if not pugnacious.
That鈥檚 what Republican pollster Frank Luntz appeared to find, anyway. He assembled a group of avowed Trump supporters in his D.C.-area office for a focus group on Monday night. According to an account of the focus group in Time magazine, the Trumpians generally espoused a 鈥渨e鈥檙e not going to take it anymore鈥� anger.
鈥淭hey believed Washington politicians and the Republican Party had repeatedly misled them, and that the country is going down the tubes. They looked for relief in Trump,鈥� writes .
Mr. Luntz showed the group clips of Trump鈥檚 unbridled attacks. For instance, they saw Trump describe comedian Rosie O鈥橠onnell as having a 鈥渇at, ugly face.鈥� But that did not give them pause, apparently.
鈥淎t the end of the session, the vast majority said they liked Trump more than when they walked in,鈥� according to Mr. Frizell.
Perhaps they equate Trump鈥檚 eagerness for conflict with power. Specifically, he鈥檚 like a cartoon superhero, writes Dartmouth political scientist Brendan Nyhan. Trump promises to wipe away intractable problems with the application of nothing but willpower 鈥� an attitude that Professor Nyhan has dubbed the 鈥淕reen Lantern theory of the presidency.鈥�
Trump says he鈥檒l increase the number of US jobs by getting them back from China and Mexico, for instance, via tougher personal negotiation. He鈥檒l find a way to deport the 11 million undocumented workers in the United States via 鈥渕anagement.鈥�
Trump is doing well in part because he鈥檚 a famous celebrity. He attracts enormous media attention.
鈥淏ut he has also exploited our vulnerability to pleasing fictions about presidential power,鈥� at The New York Times. 鈥淲e like to pretend that presidents exert vast control over the country, commanding not only the direction of American politics but also the laws and policies of the country and even the state of the economy.鈥�
