Donald Trump's presence at the first Republican presidential debate may end up being a nightmare for the other candidates,
Politico is reporting.
The first Republican debate, scheduled for Aug. 6 on Fox News, will include the top 10 candidates in an average of the national polls, and with Trump leading in several national polls, he will likely be present.
"Trump's presence at center stage … is likely to transform the first Republican debate into a major media event," Politico contends. Instead of being "the traditionally policy-focused event," it will likely be "a pageant of personality, which is a potential nightmare for other candidates."
"I think you have to assume he’ll be loud and aggressive and do everything he can to stay on offense," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told Politico. "Trump is very smart, he has lots of TV experience and is absolutely uninhibited."
Campaign aides to the other presidential candidates who will likely be on that stage "are wrestling with the Trump factor" and trying to figure out the best way to handle him at the debate.
"He might be the only person on that stage with nothing to lose," one senior Republican campaign adviser told Politico, "and he isn’t going down alone."
The candidates are going to be working to make sure that they aren't just a sideshow to the main Trump show.
According to Politico, the candidate who has the most to lose is former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who has been a target of Trump's since the real estate mogul announced his White House bid.
How Bush reacts to Trump could end up determining the fate of the Florida Republican. And the other candidates wouldn't mind if Bush faltered.
Gingrich's advice for the Republican candidates is to "avoid anger, because I don’t think anybody on that stage can out-anger Trump. His natural style is aggressive. It’s not like he has to become aggressive. He wakes up and he’s aggressive."
The former House speaker, who helped his own presidential candidacy in 2012 through his debate performances, also says that humor might be a useful tool.
"If you remember, Reagan used 'There you go again' with Jimmy Carter to enormous effect. He used 'My opponent’s youth and inexperience' with Mondale to great effect," Gingrich told Politico. "Something closer to Reagan-esque humor could be very formidable."
That being said, Gingrich thinks the best tactic may be for the candidates to simply ignore him.
"Candidates ought to focus on communicating with the American people, not focusing on Donald Trump," he said. "The candidates who do the best will be the candidates who talk most directly to the American people, rather than getting sucked into fighting with Trump."
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