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:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Fixer of Trump's problems has become one of them'Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
-
Pros and cons of oat milkPros and cons Oat has emerged as the king of Britain's plant-based milks, but how does it stack up against the alternatives?
-
What happens if TikTok is banned?Today's Big Question Many are fearful that TikTok's demise could decimate the content creator community
-
Ukraine cheers House approval of military aidSpeed Read Following a lengthy struggle, the House has approved $95 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spiesSpeed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
-
Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrikeSpeed Read The attack comes after Iran's drone and missile barrage last weekend
-
Peter Murrell: Sturgeon's husband charged over SNP 'embezzlement' claimsSpeed Read SNP expresses 'shock' as former chief executive rearrested in long-running investigation into claims of mishandled campaign funds
-
Mark Menzies: Tories investigate MP after 'bad people' cash claimsSpeed Read Fylde MP will sit as an independent while party looks into allegations he misused campaign funds on medical expenses and blackmail pay-out
-
Why Johnson won't just pass Ukraine aidSpeed Read The House Speaker could have sent $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine — but it would have split his caucus
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of warSpeed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
-
Trump's first criminal trial starts with jury picksSpeed Read The former president faces charges related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels
