GOP debate: Trump the Chicken

Whether it’s a fear of Megyn Kelly or a strategic move before Iowa, the Donald is still a coward

Donald Trump, the man who promises to be tougher than Obama towards other world leaders, has bowed out of this Thursday’s FOX News GOP debate. The reason being, Fox moderator Megyn Kelly hurt his feelings last august by asking real questions.

What followed that first Fox Debate was a war of tweets between Trump and Kelly and a war of words between Trump and Fox News. Megyn Kelly ended up taking a brief (forced?) leave of absence from her show while over the subsequent months, Trump extended his lead in the polls.

Here we are at the end of January, less than a week before the Iowa Caucus and Trump is playing chicken. Is he really afraid of Megyn Kelly? Possibly, but we must remember that Trump likes to pick juvenile fights using petty insults all the time, like he did with John McCain and Jorge Ramos.
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Does he actually fear the people he attacks? Perhaps, but it could just be for political gain. Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether Trump is a just a bigoted bumbling buffoon or a calculating, press manipulating, political genius who likes to take risks.

It is very likely that Trump is strategically skipping this last debate and simply using Megyn Kelly as an excuse. After all, what more does Trump have to gain by showing up? He’s already leading, he won’t have to defend his policies of which he has few and he won’t have to worry about making a costly error.

Still, leapfrogging the debate has its risks. If they know what is good for them, Trump will be cast aside as the weakling he is by the remaining GOP hopefuls on debate night. Ted Cruz will now be front and center attacking without having to play defence. The question is, who will be watching?

In my opinion, Trump has more to gain by staying away from the debate. Not only does he avoid the tribulations that may arise, but he also may teach Fox News a lesson when they see the huge plunge in the ratings. What good is the GOP’s attacks on trump during the debate if his followers aren’t paying attention?

You can call Trump a coward for not facing Kelly at the debate or you can call him a strategic coward for not facing the other GOP hopefuls. Either way, the Donald is still a coward. Then again, this is a man who blames all of America’s problems on minorities and immigrants. To say he’s a coward now would be disingenuous to the things he’s done in the past.