Has Carly Fiorina figured out how to counter Donald Trump?
Has Carly Fiorina transformed an insult from Donald Trump into a political positive for herself? None of the other 2016 GOP hopefuls have managed that feat. But it鈥檚 possible Ms. Fiorina has done it via that鈥檚 one of the best spots so far at this early point in the campaign season.
It鈥檚 called 鈥淔aces.鈥� It plays off Mr. Trump鈥檚 recent dismissive comments about the ex-Hewlett Packard CEO, made in . Seeing Fiorina in a TV news clip, Trump criticized her face in the reporter鈥檚 presence.
鈥淲ould anyone vote for that?鈥� said Trump, to guffaws from his aides. 鈥淐an you imagine that, the face of our next president?鈥�
The Fiorina spot 鈥� OK, technically it鈥檚 from a super PAC that supports her 鈥� turns that crack around so it is a mark of honor.
It starts with Fiorina herself on stage shortly after Trump鈥檚 comment became public. 鈥淟adies, look at this face,鈥� she says.
Then it begins quick cutting, to close ups of a range of ordinary women, just smiling for the camera.
鈥淎nd look at all of your faces,鈥� Fiorina says. 鈥淭he face of leadership. The face of leadership in our party, the party of women鈥檚 suffrage.鈥�
It builds from there. Face after face flips by as the music builds. It never mentions Trump. Instead, it makes a quick jab at the 鈥淒emocrat Party.鈥� But the message is clear: Carly Fiorina is not a supermodel, and neither are most women. Deal with it.
鈥淭his is the face of a 61-year-old woman,鈥� she concludes. 鈥淚 am proud of every year and every wrinkle.鈥�
It鈥檚 simple, direct. It鈥檚 no 鈥淒emon Sheep,鈥� the crazy attack ad from Fiorina鈥檚 California Senate campaign that鈥檚 classic in a bad way. 鈥淔aces鈥� gets the job done.
鈥淔iorina only candidate who has figured out how to weaponize a trump attack against her,鈥� , a right-leaning journalist and contributor to National Review, on Monday.
This is one more bit of evidence that Trump versus Fiorina might be the most interesting matchup of Wednesday鈥檚 GOP debate. Unlike Jeb Bush, Fiorina seems eager to go up the escalation ladder with The Donald, on stage, insult for insult. She鈥檚 said that maybe she鈥檚 getting under his skin a little bit, which is why he jibed about her face in the first place.
And she鈥檚 got a lot to gain, because at this point in the race she needs something Trump has: media attention. Her net favorability rating among Republicans is actually higher than Trump鈥檚, . But her familiarity rating is below-average for the GOP field, meaning lots of potential supporters don鈥檛 know much about her. Stories about her conflict with the Republican front-runner can help remedy this problem.
If the first debate go-round was any indication, Fiorina鈥檚 good at debating, too. She was in the early, kid鈥檚-table debate on Fox, but she鈥檚 been promoted to the big stage for CNN鈥檚 coming debate on Wednesday.
There鈥檚 one big caveat here, there. Fiorina may be rising, but she鈥檚 rising from a very small poll rating, and she鈥檚 got a long way to go. In the wake of the first debate she popped up to a range of 5 to 8 percent in national polls. Since then she鈥檚 regressed 鈥� a just released ABC/Washington Post survey found that she鈥檚 the choice of only 2 percent of GOP voters.
Overall, the of major polls has her at 4.4 percent. That puts her in sixth place overall 鈥� 20 points behind The Donald.
