The Washington Free Beacon’s Matthew Continetti discussed Trump’s rhetoric and his hold on the media Thursday on MSNBC’s Meet the Press.
Continetti said that Trump’s recent call for Ted Cruz to prove that he is a natural born citizen is an example of how Trump "reshapes American politics in strange ways."
"The beauty of Trump - he frames it as though he's doing Ted Cruz a favor," he said. "He's tweeting out today, he says, free legal advice Ted: go to the judge and ask for a declaratory statement that you are a natural born citizen."
He agreed with host Chuck Todd that, in this case, Trump was doing "what he does best," which is throwing "a candidate off message for two days."
When Todd asked Continetti if Trump’s strategy of hitting opponents where they are "softest" will ever stop working, Continetti said that Trump’s communication tactics have been very effective thus far.
"We haven't reached that point yet. … Look at Jeb Bush with low energy, right?" he said, pointing to the effect that Trump had on the Jeb Bush campaign when Trump dubbed Bush ‘low energy.’
He said that the media has followed Trump’s every comment, and that at debates, Trump is a very effective communicator.
"It's something to behold in these debates with Donald Trump, after we go through … media cycle after media cycle, responding to whatever controversial comment he makes," he said. "He appears at these debates, and usually he is reserved - for Donald Trump. He is right in the middle. He assumes almost a presidential, regal bearing at that podium. You know, I hate to admit it, he is the most effective communicator on that debate stage running in this race."