After last night’s debate, Donald Trump is being written off…just like he was after attacking John McCain, calling Mexicans “rapists” and a littany of other sins. But based on the reaction from conservative activists, it looks like Trump didn’t just survive a Fox-fueled hit– he’s thriving.
Take a look:
Drudge Report: **DRUDGE POLL** WHO WON THE FIRST REPUBLICAN DEBATE
Donald Trump was the runaway winner in the Drudge Report’s post-debate poll, with an impressive 45.95% (with 226,862 votes!) that bested the second place candidate by a whopping 30%.
MSNBC: Far Right Crowd Goes Wild For Trump At RedState Gathering
MSNBC’s Benjy Sarlin reported that Donald Trump got rave reviews and loud cheers from the right wing crowd at the RedState Gathering 2015.
National Journal: How Donald Trump’s Debate Performance Played for the Red State Crowd
But with Donald Trump, nothing is predictable, and it’s there that the “Red State Gathering” crowd offered up a surprise: When Trump defended his reversal on abortion, his donations to Democrats like Hillary Clinton, even his refusal to rule out a third-party run should he not win the Republican nomination, the crowd responded with among the biggest cheers of the night.
If the Red State crowd is any indication, the Summer of Trump is not even close to over.
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Indeed, when Trump actually cited “political correctness” as he defended his public insults of women over the years, the 600 in attendance went wild, just as they did when he hit back at Fox News moderator Chris Wallace for his question on Trump’s bankruptcies.
National Journal: Winners: Trump, Kasich, Rubio. Losers: Bush, Carson, Cruz.
Trump’s campaign might eventually unravel, but it didn’t happen Thursday night. The front-runner in the polls thrived off a series of tough questions about his past—in most cases, quickly pivoting to a condemnation of political correctness and politics as usual. Trump is clearly a TV veteran: His timing was impeccable when he quipped to debate moderator Megyn Kelly that the only woman he ever trash-talked was Rosie O’Donnell. It wasn’t true, but in TrumpWorld, it didn’t really matter.
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But time and again he demonstrated why so many conservatives are in love with his blunt message. “I’ve been challenged by so many people, and I don’t frankly have time for total political correctness,” he said at one point. “And to be honest with you, this country doesn’t have time either.”
Washington Post: Winners and losers from the first Republican presidential debate
Donald Trump: As always, Trump is the hardest candidate to judge. His unwillingness to commit to supporting the Republican nominee if he isn’t it should hurt him among Republicans. His general cluelessness about foreign policy specifics won’t help either. But, what I’ve learned about Trump is that his brashness and boisterousness have an appeal with a not-small part of the GOP electorate. And, Trump did Trump tonight — unapologetic and dismissive at every turn. “I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct,” Trump told Kelly at one point early in the debate. People clapped — and the Trump message (such as it is) seemed vindicated. I’ve been wrong on Trump before. I think he may be beyond normal political predictions.
Bloomberg Politics: Fox News Couldn’t Kill Trump’s Momentum and May Have Only Made It Stronger
Right now, Trump is the dominant candidate in the field because he has exerted a broad appeal to every part of the Republican Party. How might those Republicans react to Fox News—their own network!—aggressively trying to take down their favorite candidate?
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When I called, Roberts was furious. “I had more emotion about Fox News tonight than I did about Donald Trump,” she told me. “Those questions were not professional questions. They were bullying. They were set up to purposely make them all look bad. Our country is a mess and I feel like the debate was an example of that. I’m still with Trump.”
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We won’t know for a few more days if other Republicans reacted to the debate as Roberts did. But my guess is that Trump didn’t hurt himself and might even emerge stronger than before. There’s an unspoken accord between Trump and his supporters that Thursday’sdebate can only have intensified. Trump rants and raves in language that upsets and scandalizes the establishment. In return, his fans annoy the elite know-it-alls by rallying to him anyway. Together, they raise a big middle finger to everyone. That’s the art of the deal.
Right Wing News: Fox News & Megyn Kelly Get Blasted By Conservatives After A Horrible Debate Performance
Fox made it perfectly clear that they hate Donald Trump by hitting him with vicious below the belt question after question, but that wasn’t all there was to it. Fox also spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get the candidates to fight each other instead of the Democrats. Eventually, they succeeded in getting Rand Paul and Chris Christie to scream at each other. Undoubtedly Fox will gleefully replay their spat all day tomorrow. Is that good for Fox’s ratings? Maybe. Is it good for the Republican Party? No way. Is it good for the conservative movement? Absolutely not.
Gateway Pundit: Twitter Rips FOX and Megyn Kelly
The start of the debate was complete chaos.
It was so unorganized and uncomfortable. It was embarrassing.
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What a sad display.
Megyn Kelly got pummeled on Twitter:
@TravelByJenn
I’m super disappointed in @megynkelly . You came a Trump with bias. I’ve always found you more professional than tonight.
11:58 PM – 6 Aug 2015
@jnovs9
@megynkelly @FrankLuntz @realDonaldTrump megyn or bias against trump was a disgrace tonight. I hope I never see your face on a debate ever
@Sisters4everT
I think#megynkelly&#FoxDebate R damn bias! Trying 2 get everyone 2 attack @realDonaldTrump.Prepare 4 his response! https://twitter.com/jimlibertarian/status/629476457945788416
10:23 PM – 6 Aug 2015
The Hill: Trump dominates rowdy debate
Donald Trump dominated the first Republican primary debate Thursday with a performance that was pugnacious, volatile and, as ever, controversial.
Trump showed that he could take a punch, facing a number of tough questions from Fox News moderators that cited his business history, penchant for outlandish comments and erstwhile support for liberal positions.
Published: Aug 7, 2015