To Megyn Kelly Haters: Don't Hate the Game, Hate The Donald

After the Big Ten Fox News Debate on August 6^th, there has been nothing but hate toward news anchor Megyn Kelly.

A growing cohort of conservatives, many attracted to Real Estate Mogul Donald Trump’s lack of a “political filter”, were outraged that the female Fox News anchor asked such pointed, attacking questions of the current GOP front-runner. Yet before Kelly asked a question, Trump set himself up for rancor. At the outset, the first question of the debate, Bret Baier (not Kelly) asked if any candidate would refuse to take a pledge to support the nominee and not run on a third-party ticket.

Trump raised his hand, full of self-righteous confidence. That kind of bravado is appealing when arguing about illegal immigration or the overgrowth of Washington at the expense of the states and the people, but such self-serving posturing will hurt rather than help the cause in General Election 2016.

His remarks already signaled that Trump was creating his own troubles:

I cannot say. I have to respect the person that, if it's not me, the person that wins, if I do win, and I'm leading by quite a bit, that's what I want to do. I can totally make that pledge. If I'm the nominee, I will pledge I will not run as an independent. But — and I am discussing it with everybody, but I'm, you know, talking about a lot of leverage. We want to win, and we will win. But I want to win as the Republican. I want to run as the Republican nominee.

The incoherence of the response was telling. He goes from saying “”I cannot say” to “talking about a lot of leverage”” to “we want to win” and then “I want to win”. He did not answer the question, and demonstrated right away what he had said before: “I am no debater”.

Trump was already looking bad before Kelly asked a question. He got the first long set of boos that night, too.

Don’t blame the game, Trump fans, blame your player.

Megyn Kelly (Source: Matt Gagnon)

Now, Kelly asked a number of hard questions to every contender forcing candidates to stand by or disavow previous statements. She did not direct her first question to the front runner, but to one of the middle-ranking candidates, Dr. Ben Carson. She recalled the number of policy and personnel gaffes he had uttered in the past, including comments that the Baltic states were not members of NATO. He even misunderstood Alan Greenspan’s  role in the Federal Reserve. Those mistakes were fair game for her to ask, but Carson handled the alleged subtext of “unprepared candidate” very well. Even today, interested partisans should notice that no one in the Dr. Ben Carson camp is complaining about the “unfair treatment” he received from Kelly.

The first question she directed toward Trump was well worth asking:

Mr. Trump, one of the things people love about you is you speak your mind and you don't use a politician's filter. However, that is not without its downsides, in particular, when it comes to women.

Right away, Trump interrupted her question and stole the show with: “Only Rosie O’Donnell”. Even ardent opponents of The Donald found that retort hilarious. So, no one should roll and over and complain that Trump was victimized without any recourse.

Your Twitter account has several disparaging comments about women's looks. You once told a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice it would be a pretty picture to see her on her knees. Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as president, and how will you answer the charge from Hillary Clinton, who was likely to be the Democratic nominee, that you are part of the war on women?

For this reason, a number of conservatives have not gotten behind Trump for President. His comments toward women have not just targeted liberals, but he also unloaded on Kelly herself:

"@timjcam: @megynkelly @FrankLuntz @realDonaldTrump Fox viewers give low marks to bimbo @MegynKelly will consider other programs!"

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2015

So, she’s a bimbo?

One comment beneath Trump’s "beneath contempt" tweet was spot on:

@realDonaldTrump @timjcam @megynkelly @FrankLuntz bimbo? Maybe her attitude towards you was the correct one.

— Sikes (@PaulSiakew) August 7, 2015

Kelly went after Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker for his views on abortion. Some could claim that she had it out for him, too. He handled it with grace.

Final Reflection

Instead of bashing Kelly interrogating all the candidates, including Trump, with expert savvy, conservatives in general and Republicans in particular should embrace that on a more friendly, balanced network, the Presidential candidates submitted to an array of difficult questions which the Marginalized Media were prepping to ask anyway.

Do conservatives want liberal propaganda machines bringing up these terrible questions and then destroying these candidates for weeks on end afterwards.

I commend Megyn Kelly for her tough questions, not just for The Donald, but for all the Big Ten Presidential candidates, and all of them performed well on the debate floor Thursday.

As for those who contend that Trump got an unfair hand dealt to him, this tweet offers the best response:

@realDonaldTrump You are a a gigantic baby like this gigantic baby pic.twitter.com/F4MQaNULzK

— pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) August 7, 2015

In short, Trump fans: quit crying. Don’t hate Megyn, or the game, but hate your player.