DJT, the fallout and tonight's debate

The video of Donald Trump discussing his sexual proclivities with Billy Bush has dominated the news cycle since it broke on Friday night. It has been covered extensively by cable news.  (Except for Fox. Even now, the story is buried on the front page of their website).

Talking heads replayed and analyzed the content, and commentators reminded us that Trump’s words are far from the “locker room banter” that he apologized for. The comments actually glorified sexual assault. Kissing and grabbing without permission is sexual assault - that’s pretty clear. Even Rudy Guiliani, Trump’s Spin-master-in-Chief, conceded the point on Sunday morning TV.

To their credit, the Trump campaign’s media surrogates have not tried to deny it.  

After his tepid non-apology, Trump released a video where he showed uncharacteristic contrition saying, “I said it. I was wrong, and I apologize.”

He immediately pivots to Bill Clinton’s cloudy past: “Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed, and intimidated his victims.”

The battle lines are drawn, and the Trump spin room is hard at work deflecting criticism by drawing a distinction between his words and President Clinton’s actions.

This morning Breitbart released a video interview it conducted with Juanita Broaddrick. In it, she tearfully recounts her story of a 1978 sexual assault at the hands of then-Arkansas attorney general Bill Clinton.

In another video, Breitbart interviews Broaddrick and two other women who have made such claims. They express fear and terror of Hillary in the Oval Office; people that she doesn’t like will be taken out, “annihilated.” 

How effective is this line of attack against Hillary? It’s hard to say. Trump and his supporters hold it up as their battle flag - obviously thinking offense is their best defense.

Liberals – specifically Clinton supporters – point out that blaming a wife for the actions of her husband takes us back years in the feminist movement.

The fallout from Trump’s comments goes beyond an attack strategy on Bill Clinton’s past. He lost support from major party players such as John McCain, Kelly Ayotte, and Rob Engstrom, the senior vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (check out as full list here). The RNC has put a temporary hold on all “Victory” program activities in support of the candidate, and Kellyanne Conway and Reince Priebis pulled out of appearances on Sunday morning television. Paul Ryan uninvited Trump from a campaign event on Saturday and is in a tough position over whether to continue supporting such an erratic candidate.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump remains defiant. He proclaimed that he will not leave the race, and accuses the “media and establishment” of exaggerating his comments to force his demise. “So many self-righteous hypocrites” he tweeted today. “Watch their poll numbers – and elections – go down!”

These comments and their backlash will certainly dominate tonight’s debate. CNN Money is reporting that the first set of questions will be about this issue and its fallout.

A coin toss has already determined that Clinton will speak first. She will walk on stage ready to attack. In return, she will also be attacked – mercilessly. As we saw in the last debate, Hillary Clinton is a professional. The debate will be a time for her to sharpen her skewer, while outmaneuvering her opponent and trying to trap him into defending his statements. Clinton is a master at policy and her challenge will be to translate her bookish knowledge and digs at Trump while appearing likeable and warm. Can she do it? Yes.

Donald Trump will come out with fists swinging. At this point, he doesn’t have anything to lose and probably feels he can only gain. Given his loose lips and tendency to make irrational statements, this could backfire (but will make for excellent television). Right now, his handlers are going over phrasing and terminology, praying that he doesn’t go off script. The best thing that Trump can do tonight is put a crack in Clinton’s steely armor. He and his supporters will celebrate any sign of weakness; and will probably claim to crack her whether they truly do or not.  

Two weeks ago, I didn’t think the stakes could be higher.  Tonight they are.

How will Trump answer for his comments when confronted? How will Clinton bait him while sustaining a tirade against her husband? There’s only one way to find out. The fallout will be enlightening.