I waited to see if the media would jump all over Donald Trump's comments on wages in America given at the beginning of his Tuesday debate performance. Nothing. Nada. Nor did any other Republican candidate, to date, raise this issue.
For those who are unaware of what I'm talking about, here goes. In the Fox Business/WSJ debate, Trump was asked whether he supported an increase in the minimum wage rate. Instead of addressing the current drive to increase the federal minimum wage, with many leftist activists seeking a $15 per hour wage hike, Trump went on to indicate that wages were already too high. What?
Here's where it gets a little convoluted since, as usual, Trump was nowhere near being clear as to whether he was talking about the minimum wage rate or wages in general. It sounded as if Trump was talking about wages in general as an element that was keeping American businesses from being competitive. Was Trump referring to all wages as being too high? That's what raised my concern and continues until I hear a more definitive response from Trump
Up until this comment, Trump had pretty much appeared to be a traitor to his wealthy class by proposing greater taxes on the rich. Trump had been using this populist tactic to play to his blue collar working class supporters. Nothing surprising here.
The question then is whether this blunder on wages will even matter to Trump supporters? if the short history of Trump's campaign is any indicator, the answer is probably not.
Trump supporters don't really seem to be concerned about his mishmash of conservative and liberal political principles, as much as they like what they perceive as his persona as one tough guy who will stand up to the political establishment.
Will any of the Republican candidates jump on this blunder of Trump or simply let the opportunity evaporate? Up until now the other Republican candidates seem to have avoided confronting The Donald on his nonsensical pronouncements, which have markedly lacked any real or practical substance.
They realize that Trump has tapped into a very vibrant chord of discontent among many, if not most people, on the political right. Right now Trump is leading the band and calling the tune. His opponents are definitely scared to challenge the tune he's playing. Instead they seem to have adopted their own tactic to ignore Trump and let him bury himself with his inconsistencies. Whether this tactic will prevail remains to be seen. Rest assured, however, that Donald Trump will not be ignored. He is, besides being a wealthy billionaire, a very successful reality show entertainer and he knows how to play an audience.
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