A week after the first Republican presidential debates and one candidate generated enough waves with his performance to generate headlines for the past seven days: Donald Trump.
While the debate lived up to all the hype, let's not kid ourselves: It was not a reincarnation of the Lincoln–Douglas Debates of 1858.
Trump's confrontation with Fox News moderator Megyn Kelly during the debate and his post-debate comments criticizing Kelly have garnered more publicity than any substantive policy position taken by Trump or other candidate during the debates.
Since last week's debate, there has been discussion in Republican circles about excluding Trump from future Republican National Committee sanctioned debates.
Removing Trump from the debates would be impossible for numerous reasons, but as former U.S. Senator Norm Coleman told me, it would be a political mistake to exclude Trump as it plays into his "mantra" of battling the political establishment.
Coleman, who is supporting U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham's candidacy, described Trump to me as "all bombast and no substance." Coleman added the upcoming debates "hopefully … will expose Trump for who he is."
In an interview on FOX News last evening, Charles C.W. Cooke with National Review aptly described Trump's candidacy as "performance art."
Minnesota's own "performance art" politician, former Governor Jesse Ventura said this week he hopes Trump wins the Republican nomination for president and … wait for it … Ventura would consider being Trump's running-mate.
Never mind that Ventura already endorsed the candidacy of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, who is drawing huge crowds to his insurgent campaign as he battles front-runner Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party's nomination for president.
Ventura's endorsements of both a Republican and Democratic candidate for president may seem inconsistent. But by backing Trump and Sanders, Ventura is reaffirming his admiration for political arsonists whose candidacies, if successful, will fundamentally alter their own party's political structure and organization.
Trump, whose performance in the debate was criticized by many pundits and political observers, continues his lead in the polls, including in key two states that play an important role in selecting the party's nominee: Iowa and New Hampshire.
In Iowa, Trump has surprised many by building the grassroots organization needed to win delegates for the nomination from the Hawkeye State.
Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who ran for president in 2012, told me "there is clearly a market for a blunt, straight-talking, non-politician in the race" when we spoke this week about Trump's candidacy.
Pawlenty, who has yet to declare his support for a Republican candidate added, "a candidate like that can gain support of not just part of the party, but also the electorate that is frustrated and angry with politics and politicians as usual."
The problem for Trump, said Pawlenty is when the comments from "a blunt, straight-talking, non-traditional candidate … become viewed as non-serious and inappropriate." Pawlenty said Trump's has "hit the trip-wire" more than once with his comments.
While Trump's candidacy helped boost viewership of the debate, Pawlenty said Trump has "sucked all of the oxygen out of the room" related to the coverage of the presidential race. Pawlenty said this will ultimately hurt less high-profile candidates who need early attention for their campaigns to have any chance of succeeding.
Many Republican tacticians who understand the mechanics of winning the nomination have said Trump has little chance of being crowned as the nominee next year at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
If Trump's chances of winning the nomination are slim, his exit from the political spotlight may be as disruptive as his entrance.
Pawlenty agreed, describing Trump's candidacy as similar to a "tornado," adding, "there is not much the party can do" and like a tornado, Republicans need to "let it pass and hope for minimal damage"
It would be wise for Republicans to close the storm windows, because the Trump Tornado is showing no sign of losing strength.
Picture source: Andrew Harnik, Associated Press
