Trump Has Always Shaken Off Would-Be Tacklers

We reported earlier that Donald Trump is complaining that NFL games were scheduled on the same nights as two of the three presidential debates. We also noted that it was not a plot by Hillary. The independent and bi-partisan debate commission scheduled the debates 11 months ago—six months before the NFL released its schedule. So maybe it’s the NFL that should be moving its games.

But, apparently, it did get people thinking about the pigskin and politics. For instance, “Shark Tank” Billionaire Mark Cuban was first on the line of scrimmage, according to Business Insider:

Mark Cuban used a football analogy to rip into Donald Trump on Tuesday on Twitter.

The brash billionaire tweeted, .@realDonaldTrump’s situational awareness is so bad he would punt on 1st down. Every possession.

The Wall Street Journal disagrees, saying trump is always on offense, and would never punt. And he should stick to his game plan.

For Donald Trump’s critics, it’s not just that they disagree with the man and his policies. It’s more that they find him offensive.

There’s a reason for this: Mr. Trump is a man who is perpetually on offense.

Think of him as the Kevin Kelley of politics. Mr. Kelley coaches football for Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Ark. He’s gained national fame as the coach who almost never punts. Coach Kelley believes that remaining on offense (keeping possession of the ball) is more important than defense (trying to deny an opponent field position).

So he goes for it on fourth down even in his own territory. As a result, Mr. Kelley gives his offense four plays to gain 10 yards instead of three. Just as important, his all-offense approach gives his Bruins a psychological edge. . .

Mr. Trump is playing the same game. Not only is he always on the attack, he hardly ever backs down—even when he’s demonstrably wrong. . .

Hillary Clinton’s dilemma is somewhat different. And it points to the great X Factor of the 2016 election: Never before have Democrats faced a Republican nominee who is so relentlessly on offense. . .

Unlike Mr. Kelley, who has a string of state championships and an impressive win-loss record, Mr. Trump has not yet proved his strategy will put him over the goal line come the fall. But he’s sure taken Coach Kelley’s point about offense.

Even Newt Gingrich put on a helmet to describe Trump, on Fox Business. If he used a football cliché, he might have said, “he’s better than his record indicates,” but he should call a time-out on his “smash-mouth” plays.

Gingrich remarked that Trump’s performance recalled quarterback Joe Montana’s “stretch during his career where he kept throwing interceptions, and, for about half a season, it looked like he wasn’t Joe Montana anymore.”

“And then he figured out what he was doing, and he changed. Trump, Trump is in that kind of a slump,” said Gingrich, a Trump supporter who was under final consideration for the vice-presidential slot before Indiana Gov. Mike Pence was chosen.

“It’s like watching a team go out on the field, throw an interception on the first play and go back off the field again,” Gingrich continued, alluding to a host of recent comments and battles Trump has waged over the course of the past week. . .

Trump has “thrown a series of interceptions in the last week that really do not bode well for his campaign,” Gingrich warned. . .

Fox Business’ Dagen McDowell suggested that Trump’s actions amounted to more of a fumble because he was “yelling at some fan in the stands who’s insulted him.” Gingrich laughed as she asked whether it was a fixable problem.

“You’re describing sort of playing in Philadelphia,” Gingrich said, a day after an umpire ejected a heckling fan at a Phillies game. “Look, I don’t know if it’s a fixable problem, but I think it’s a very big moment for Trump. He has got to find a way to slow down, really learn some new lessons.”. . .

Trump should focus only on hitting President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and no one else, the former speaker suggested.

“But other than those two people, anytime he talks about anyone else, it is an unforced fumble, if you like, or an interception as I said. But it’s clearly a mistake,” Gingrich added. “And until he can discipline himself to be very direct, very controlled — which, frankly, is what you want in a president, because the presidency has so much power.

When John McCain wanted to shake up his campaign in 2008, he “threw a Hail Mary pass,” in the form of calling up Rookie Sarah Palin to the majors. Trump’s already picked his veep, so he doesn’t have that option play. Actually Trump is “shaking up” his campaign every single day, but there’s usually a flag on the play. And that’s why many in the GOP would like to “bench him.”