NRO: Trump Frump Fail

National Review Online reported on Donald Trump's latest campaign stop in Mobile, Alabama.

Voters should not be surprised to see Democrats as well as Republicans campaigning in one of the most conservative states in the country. The Governor of Alabama, Robert Bentley is starting to show his blue side, raising taxes and going out of his way to promote one of the most liberal Republican Presidential contenders in the field (John Kasich, not Jeb Bush). Bernie Sanders had rallied dispirited and otherwise dormant Democrats in the state as well.

Donald Trump from behind (BostonJerry)

Apparently, according to NRO, Trump underwhelmed:

In an hour-long verbal meanderthon at half-filled Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Trump allowed an atmosphere of electric excitement to dissipate, and then he split town without his promised post-show press conference. As I left the stadium, a red-hatted lady of my acquaintance spotted me and pulled me aside, saying: “Somebody needs to tell that man when to shut the you-know-what up. People were leaving in droves.” 


Well, not entirely droves, but by my estimate, about 15–20 percent of the 18,000 or so attendees — Trump publicity organs had earlier said they expected up to 35,000 — had filed out before Trump wound up his many-versed hymn to his own toughness and deal-making skills.


Aside from bluster and blather, more people did not even bother and went home early. How much longer will conservatives listen to this man praise himself without promising and delivering something better for the country?


This is the Republican front-runner? Trump is a media phenomenon. Fox News had the highest ratings on August 6th, and much of it due to the Donald.


What else?


The line of the evening belonged to Rob Holbert, a former press aide to Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi and now the co-publisher of the port city’s Lagniappe weekly. “That speech was more disjointed,” he said, “than a skeleton after tumbling down four flights of stairs.”


Passion means nothing if it does not communicate anything. Trump has contradicted himself in the same sentence as well as from decade to decade. Yes, he has touched a nerve with the American public, and Republican party leaders are responsible for allowing their representatives and partisan activists to push Big Business and the Chamber of Commerce instead of "We the People" and the United States Constitution.


"Disjointed like a skeleton"? Wow. How bad could it have been? Trump has lots of skeletons in his closet, but he has not run from them. Instead of stumbling out of the closet, Trump threw them out, or rather found nothing to be ashamed of in the first place.


Another comment should concern Trump supporters:


And I woke up this morning to this e-mail from a retired professional who is an outspoken conservative and longtime Mobile civic leader: What happened with Trump? Why was he so late going on stage? Why did he cancel the press conference? Was he insulted by the turnout and had to be talked into going on stage and canceled the press conference because he didn’t want to justify the smaller crowd? Is he a petulant child?


He cancelled one press conference, yet threw out a liberal reporter in another? No wanted to see Trump? Perhaps he is a child, and the only reason he is running for President is the easy media attention and the books he can sell afterwards. Who needs NBC and "The Apprentice" when a national profile has catapulted you to never-ending 24-7 stardom?

Yes, there were still a lot of people there. But so what?

Not to say that Trump’s speech failed to earn some bursts of enthusiastic applause, or that his Mobile appearance was a total bust. Still, compared with the remarkable buzz leading up to the tycoon’s visit, the actual performance was missed opportunity. Typical was this frustrated Facebook post by a local tea-party leader: “Substance!!!!!!!!! No substance!!!!! . . . Trump, please stop rambling. Please, do you have a plan???”


Scott Walker was blowing off some people with "I have a plan for. . " but he finally produced them for health care and immigration. What does Trump have to offer? His closest fans, including Tea Party supporters. are interested in more than just a lot of fame and frolic.

Trump Frump (Michael Vadon)

About the lack of substances:


But once Trump’s familiar riffs against illegal immigrants ran out, so did almost all pretense of discussing policy. Again and again he asserted that foreign countries — China, Japan, and Mexico were his favorite targets — are taking America to the cleaners because we’re “too dumb” to negotiate well with them. And that led to what a great, terrific, fantastic, superb negotiator Trump is and how — repeated ad nauseam — Trump would make everything right because “we will have unbelievable deals” when he’s in charge.

Familiar riffs are getting old, the same way an aged comic telling the same jokes stops being funny.

Donald Trump is a joke of a candidate, and should not be taken seriously, and the fact that he underwhelmed in the buckle of the Bible Belt should dissuade current and future supporters from his campaign.