After FBI Director James Comey managed to shake up the home stretch of the campaign Friday, Hillary Clinton’s camp cobbled together a response that leaned heavily on discrediting Comey (problematic, just months after Democrats praised his integrity) and suggesting that Russia was behind everything.
Things had been going so well for the Clinton campaign, particularly after the news media decided to dedicate a week’s worth of coverage to former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, whom Donald Trump had criticized for her weight gain. Clinton’s people whipped up an ad focusing on young girls and body image and, purely coincidentally, struck gold when a teen just happened to echo that very theme at a Clinton town hall.
Hillary’s previous attempt at deploying a reset button didn’t work out as intended, but why not reset her campaign to the point when Machado was headline news? At a campaign stop in Dade City, Fla., Tuesday, Machado introduced Clinton, saying a few words about her concern that Russia was meddling in a foreign election. No, of course that’s not what she said.
The Miss Universe that Donald Trump mocked for gaining weight – is opening for Hillary Clinton in Florida now pic.twitter.com/17dAaxpInA
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) November 1, 2016
https://twitter.com/BecketAdams/status/793539063152254976
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) November 1, 2016
Well, you know how spontaneous and off-the-cuff Hillary can be.
Alicia Machado on Trump: "It is clear that he does not respect women. He just judges us on our looks."
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) November 1, 2016
"He thinks he can do whatever he wants and get away with it." https://t.co/dyXta6RZnL
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) November 1, 2016
HRC on Trump women stuff: "We cannot hide from this. We have to be willing to face this. This man wants to be pres of the United States."
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) November 1, 2016
Alicia Machado introduces Hillary Clinton, saying that Trump was “overwhelming” – “I was scare of him. He made fun of me” pic.twitter.com/OMPXgEFf3l
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) November 1, 2016
But what about the Russians? What about the case that Trump was undermining democracy itself by suggesting the election was rigged?
"It’s almost hard to believe, isn’t it? There are only 7 days left in this election," Clinton tells Dade City, Fla., crowd
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) November 1, 2016
Yes, it is hard to believe that with only seven days left, Clinton is pivoting back to Trump’s treatment of women. Not only is he likely to nuke the planet into oblivion; he’s going to comment on women’s weight while he’s doing it.
It's day 5 since FBI dropped bombshell on the Clinton camp, who still hasn't dropped a new oppo dump on Trump. Best they have is Machado?
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) November 1, 2016
Former Miss Universe Alicia Machado is introducing Hillary at a Florida rally, reprising her criticism of Trump. Closing argument?
— HowardKurtz (@HowardKurtz) November 1, 2016
https://twitter.com/LindaLeigh226/status/793545122281644032
https://twitter.com/NYCRepublican1/status/793540056199946241
Howie this shtick is getting old! Move on please!
— Pat Campbell (@PC1170) November 1, 2016
https://twitter.com/KWCromwell/status/793540245333635073
https://twitter.com/AndYoureGone/status/793543158235795456
It’s unlikely to hurt Trump as long as he manages to stay on message and not give the media an excuse to spend another five days on Miss Universe 1996 and the next president’s role in promoting a healthy body image to teen girls.
A transparently stupid attempt to bait Trump, which will be 100% successfulhttps://t.co/f1TYQL04hU
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) November 1, 2016