September 28, 2016 | No Comments
Donald Trump is turning to his supporters for advice on debate prep just days after completing his first head-to-head matchup with Hillary Clinton — one he was widely perceived to have lost.
The Manhattan billionaire’s campaign emailed out a 30-question “debate preparation survey” to supporters on Wednesday, asking them which issues they thought were Trump’s strongest on Monday night and on which issues he should focus on in the next debate. It also asks supporters if Trump should raise an array of issues, nearly all of them relating to one Clinton scandal or another.
“The next debate against Hillary Clinton is just 11 days away. I need your immediate feedback from the first debate in order to win the second one,” the email to supporters that accompanies the survey said. “The race is close. We can’t leave anything up to chance. But because you got me to where I stand today, I’m turning to you.”
Among the questions the survey asks are: “Should Trump have brought up Hillary’s failure in Benghazi as a disqualification for the presidency?” and “Should Trump speak directly to the American voters at home and defend our positive message for America?” Seeking yes, no or “other, please specify” answers from respondents, the survey also asks if Trump should attack Clinton over the paid speeches she gave after leaving the State Department, her “proud claim to put a lot of coal miners out of business” and her comment labeling half of Trump’s supporters as “deplorables.”
In the handful of questions that do not focus on Clinton, Trump asks his supporters if he should highlight his “firsthand experience and ability to create jobs” in the private sector and the role of the next president in appointing not just Supreme Court justices, but also federal judges.
Trump, whose campaign said he did use traditional preparation methods like engaging in mock debates ahead of Monday night’s showdown with Clinton, complained Tuesday morning that he was asked hostile questions by moderator Lester Holt while the former secretary of state was not questioned as directly about her own scandals. The Manhattan billionaire also complained that his microphone did not work such that he could not be heard in the debate hall, wondering aloud in multiple interviews if it had been made to malfunction on purpose.