Trump's Skillful Countermove. Attack!

Trump Reacts to being Birther-ized Immediately, Forcefully, and Visibly.

Scene at entrance of La Brea tar pit

Possibly the way to get out of the tar pit is to charge right out before the tar gets a chance to stick.   

Donald Trump appears to know what is happening to him and he is taking immediate action.   He knows birther-ism when he sees it.

In the election of 1988 the popular Michael Dukakis began being called a wimp by George H. W. Bush.  The Korean War veteran was accused of being unpatriotic and opposed to the Pledge of Allegiance. Dukakis's response was to dismiss this as obviously ridiculous and not to dignify the charge with a response.  Mistake.  It stuck.

Senator John Kerry got "swift boated" in which he was attacked for being a coward under fire in the incident where he was wounded and got a Purple Heart and Bronze Star.  His response was to dismiss this as obviously ridiculous and not to dignify the charge with a response.  Same mistake.  It stuck.

This blog asserted that Trump was subject to Birtherization, i.e. the same thing that had happened to Barrack Obama by Trump.   Trump was getting accused of an inflammatory and de-legitimizing action--being a puppet of Putin, subject to their blackmail for videotaped sexual perversions, and in cahoots with their businesses.   I likened these charges to Trump's relentless accusation that Obama's birth in Hawaii was fraudulent. This blog said the very fact of endless controversy pulled Obama down. 

Click Here for the segment.

Trump opponents might conclude Trump was getting his own medicine.   Trump supporters might think these charges are ridiculous and utterly unfair and a nazi-style defamatory witch-hunt. I consider both to be true.

The charges of Trump paying prostitutes to urinate on him lend themselves to late night comedy mocking.  The charge is not very plausible, as Trump himself said at the press conference since he is both a germaphobe and he said he was aware of the potential for spy cameras everywhere. But Trump haters have something to laugh about.   Maybe it will stick as a laugh line but without real evidence or an accuser this will actually help Trump because it will signify that his detractors are over-reaching.

The risk to Trump is the repetition of another, more plausible charge:  Trump the Puppet.  An example of this shows up in this comment, from a news story on Trump's deep ties to Russia.

Repetition of the key charge:  puppet, puppet, puppet.

The repetition of this word may simply be the one-off chaos of internet commenters, but it may be a sign of something much bigger and more dangerous to Trump: a coordinated organized effort to circulate a birtherizing meme, focusing on a meme that has credibility.  This charge will have some evidence to sustain it in the real world, because in fact Trump wants rapprochement with Russia, and signs of bi-lateral cooperation will appear.  Americans will need to interpret whether these are good for America and why they are happening.  It is courageous and risky, now made doubly so because it feeds the dangerous meme: Trump in thrall to Putin, Trump a phony tough guy and actually a puppet to Trump.  Bloomberg Business Week magazine illustrated an article on Trump and Putin with Putin as judo expert tripping Trump.  This could stick.

Trump responded.  He came out fighting.  He learned from the mistakes of Dukakis, Kerry and Obama who attempted to dismiss the charge.  

CNN's own analysis

Trump directly denied the charge.

  

He gave reasons why it was impossible. 

He attacked a prominent messenger of the charge.

Trump attacking CNN, refusing to take their question, and calling them "fake news" is a serious and visible response.   It sends a message to the media that there will be consequences for treating this as a serious subject.   There are risks to Trump in this course of action: Trump elevates to newsworthy the charge.

And how did CNN respond?   CNN folded.  Trump triumphed.  He attacked their core value, real news, called it fake, and they defended Trump, not their own reporter or organization.

Politicians and the media are getting a lesson in how to respond to message attacks. The jury is out.  Animals stuck in the tar do not die at once.  Possibly Trump showed how to escape.  Possibly in a few weeks or months we will realize that Trump simply dug himself deeper.   

Other news organizations may resent Trump's shunning CNN, or they may secretly appreciate the competitive advantage and do what they can to stay in Trump's good graces.   Access is better for business than exclusion.  The media is evaluating how to handle the story.

Dukakis, Kerry, and Obama looked frustrated and indignant when they were charged with inflammatory things.   Trump appears angry and his response it to inflict pain.   Stay tuned.  Anger might work.