Donald Trump is known for grabbing headlines. The very next day after Marco Rubio upset him in Minnesota, Trump was endorsed by Chris Christie—Rubio’s main critic, who said Rubio was a typical politician that only memorized 25-second blurbs.
And now, after Ted Cruz’ surprise win in Idaho, Trump was endorsed, Friday, by Ben Carson—Cruz’ main critic, who cheated Carson in Iowa.
The full Trump-Carson press conference from earlier today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjeM6jnX32M
But Trump’s bigger news, at that press conference, was that he doesn’t plan to do any more debates, according to Business Insider:
The morning after the 12th Republican presidential debate, Trump said he had had enough.
“I think we’ve had enough debates,” Trump said. . . “I mean, how many times do you have to give the same answer to the same question?”
The GOP frontrunner was responding to a question about a planned March 21 debate and whether his suggestion was that “we’ve had enough.”. . .
Trump had nothing but praise on Friday for what he called a “very elegant debate last night,” but he signaled that he wasn’t inclined to do any more such events:
I think it will be nice to finish off with this one. I thought CNN did a fantastic job last night. I thought that Jake [Tapper] was a great moderator. It was just a really nice way to finish off the debate season. But I really think it’s enough debates. I don’t think there’s any reason for the debates.
Trump was responding to a reporter’s question, and it shows how unpredictable these events can be. A reporter can bring up a topic the candidate may not want to handle. The response can be news, dodging the question can be news—but that may overshadow what the candidate wanted to convey.
In this case, Trump was there to accept Carson’s endorsement, but that news was blunted by the idea that there might not be any more debates, and speculation about what that might mean for Trump, as well as the other candidates.
And that’s not all, according to another Business Insider article—about the same news conference. More news is that Trump thinks he’ll win over Hollywood—which is usually considered a liberal bastion.
Trump says his Hollywood pals have told him, “Everyone out there is voting for you, but they’re not going to admit it.”
“I say, ‘Why? Aren’t you proud? I have a tough stance on crime. I have a tough stance on borders.’ They all know I’m right. But they’re liberal people, and they don’t want to admit it.”
“But, you know what? They’re going to vote for Trump,” the GOP frontrunner boasted.
This could have been three different ways to dominate the news cycle. Instead, the messages have mashed together, and poor Ben has not received the attention he deserved.
Meanwhile, Carson brought up additional issues, as CNN notes.
While endorsing Trump, Carson took a shot at the GOP establishment.
“What I’ve been seeing recently is political operatives … once again trying to assert themselves and trying to thwart the will of the people,” Carson said. “I find that to be an extraordinarily dangerous place right now.”
In addition, Carson opened up another can of worms—that is, are we seeing the “real” Donald Trump?
Carson — whose campaign and demeanor were polar opposites of Trump’s in many ways — played the role Friday of vouching for Trump’s character and integrity. He explained that there were “two Donald Trumps” — one that the public sees, and another more reserved and “cerebral” man who “sits there and considers things very carefully.”
“Some people have gotten the impression that Donald Trump is this person who is not malleable, who does not have the ability to listen, and to take information in and make wise decisions. And that’s not true,” Carson said. “He’s much more cerebral than that.”
Trump initially agreed, but then realized it sounded as if he’s putting on a show to get elected, but it’s not really him, as NBC notes:
Trump agreed with that assessment.
“I probably do agree. There’s the public version … it seems to have worked over my lifetime,” he said. “I think it’s different than the personal one.”
Moments later, though, Trump seemed to reject that idea.
“I don’t think there are two Donald Trumps. I think there’s one Donald Trump,” he said.
As Trump has said repeatedly, running for president is a tough and often nasty job. He could also keep in mind that anything that’s said can run off in another direction.
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