How to use federal anti-bullying guidelines to defeat Donald Trump

(Image credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump is facing off against 10 of his rivals at the Reagan Library tonight for the second GOP presidential debate, and CNN has promised verbal fisticuffs. None of those candidates should take the bait, argues Dana Milbank at The Washington Post. Ignoring and punching back at Trump have only fueled his rise in the polls, "because his opponents are following the wrong script," Milbank says. "They treat him as if he were a conventional candidate, and not the schoolyard bully he has been acting like."

In fact, Milbank adds, the other, non-Trump GOP candidates and Republican leaders " would do better going to StopBullying.gov, the website for a public-service campaign run by the Department of Health and Human Services." If you replace every mention of "child" or "children" with "candidate" or "candidates," you get some pretty sage advice for Trump's opponents on-stage and off:

StopBullying.gov has some wisdom for CNN's Jake Tapper, the moderator of Wednesday's debate, when he (inevitably) encounters Trump’s bullying. “Intervene immediately. It is okay to get another adult to help.... Don't think candidates can work it out without adult help." And the targets of Trump's bullying? "Look at the candidate bullying you and tell him or her to stop in a calm, clear voice. You can also try to laugh it off." [The Washington Post]

If you see some good forced laughs at the debate tonight, somebody's been doing his or her homework.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.