Monday on Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” host Bill O’Reilly offered his theory on what Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump needs to do to close the gap he has with his opponent Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
O’Reilly argued Trump put less emphasis on feuding with the like of House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), defend himself against “scurrilous attacks,” but more importantly focus on three themes: the economy, immigration and the so-called chaos overseas.
Transcript as follows:
ABC News poll — good news for Donald Trump, has him just four points behind Hillary Clinton.
NBC News poll — not so good news, he’s down by 11 in that one.
CBS News poll, Trump down by nine.
Talking Points believes the Fox News poll, which has Trump down by seven, is most likely the most accurate.
But with three weeks remaining the question is, can that gap can be closed?
There are a few things that Donald Trump must do.
First, put aside the feuding. It gets him nowhere with voters to take on people like Paul Ryan.
Second, while he must defend himself against charges he believes are scurrilous, he should quickly dispatch those charges and hone in on three themes.
They are a stagnant economy, illegal immigration and chaos overseas.
Also, with the WikiLeaks stuff, Mr. Trump has plenty of ammo for Wednesday night’s debate.
As for Hillary Clinton, she is off the campaign trail this week resting up for the debate in Las Vegas.
That’s smart. She’s ahead, but she can’t sit on her lead if the debate is won by Donald Trump.
If the secretary dominates on Wednesday night, she’s in.
But if Trump hammers her, Mrs. Clinton will have to compete.
Her best strategy in Vegas is to mostly ignore Trump and talk directly to the voters, trying to convince them that she is not corrupt.
Now the big picture.
It all pretty much comes down to four states: Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Trump needs to take three of those four and win the West — that is Nevada, Colorado and the rest of the red states out there.
There is no question that Hillary Clinton is better positioned right now, but again, things change fast in this terrible campaign.
I say terrible because it’s just one personal attack after another on both sides.
And that has weakened both Trump and Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
BOB WOODWARD, WASHINGTON POST: I think the question becomes for her and for voters: Is she going to be able to govern? You talk to lots of people who are her supporters, and they say, you know, she may be elected, but she will be a weak president. And part of this is she’s got to face – this isn’t just about Trump, it’s about her.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
The polls show many Americans, perhaps most, are voting against rather than for one of the candidates.
First time in my life that has happened.
And that’s the memo.
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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