Donald Trump

For weeks we’ve been wondering how the Republican field would handle the presence of Donald Trump on stage with the rest of the “conventional” candidates. On Thursday night in Cleveland, we got the answer. Trump delivered perhaps the most unconventional “performance” in a debate that we’ve ever witnessed – and his presence literally forced all the other candidates to get serious about staking out and defending their positions.

The arena was empty, the candidates were verbose and the substance was light. Carly Fiorina appeared to be the only candidate who will clearly benefit from Fox’s “Happy Hour” lower-tier debate.

Even with the field set for tonight’s long anticipated first “official” Republican presidential debate, a cloud of distrust still hovers over the event. Plus, will you tune-in for the “Happy Hour” debate, and, what if Trump wins the nomination?

We now know who will be on stage for the Fox News debate in Cleveland on Thursday night. Plus, reaction continues to trickle in from Monday night’s forum, the latest candidate who is supposedly “in trouble,” and finally, Dems love Hillary no matter what she does.

While there was no actual “debate” at last night's "Voters First Forum" give the organizers some credit; the one-on-one format of questions from a moderator with no give and take among the candidates did allow each candidate to put their best foot forward. But what putting their best foot forward showed is that most of them are Lilliputians compared to Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.

The simple truth of Thursday is that Trump has the least to lose and is least likely to lose it. The other simple truth is that Trump’s campaign would not even exist if the Republican Party in Washington, D.C. kept its promises and liked the non-monied portion of its base.

With the hours counting down until Thursday night’s first official Republican presidential debate, talk remains centered on polls and which candidates will get the chance to face off in the primetime portion of the program. Plus, Chris Christie’s big talk and Ben Carson says no to political correctness.

Donald Trump is surging in GOP presidential polls ahead of next week’s first Republican debate among the party’s presidential candidates, but the controversial businessman finished third in a sampling of conservative activists, according to a survey released Saturday by the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition.

Days before the first Republican debate, Donald Trump has surged into the national lead in the GOP primary race, with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush following, a new NBC News/ Wall Street Journal poll shows. Trump is the first choice of 19 percent of GOP primary voters, while 15 percent back Walker and 14 percent back Bush.

Trump2016.com is merely the latest quadrennial installment in this presidential election saga, complete as always with disdain from the “serious” candidates and the “mainstream” press. But rather than spurn the disruption, the GOP would do well to focus on what’s going wrong. It isn’t complicated.

Trump’s success in harnessing populist energy and enthusiasm is reminiscent of 2010’s Tea Party wave. Naturally, there are comparisons.

While Jeb Bush is cramming for this week's GOP presidential candidates debate Donald Trump doesn’t have to. He’s at the top of the national polls not because he managed to memorize a bunch of poll-tested lines fed to him by rented “friends,” consultants and advisers, but because he’s speaking for millions of country class Americans who are fed-up with government by the political class, of the political class and for the political class.

Entering perhaps the most important week thus far in the campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, the question of “who’s in, who’s out” (Thursday’s debate, that is) is becoming a little clearer. Also, the ‘real’ Rand Paul campaign, and, how about a 3rd Obama term?

Another poll shows Donald Trump well out in front of the large Republican presidential field, while several candidates are scrambling just to make it into the top 10 in nationwide surveys. Meanwhile, Trump’s presence at the debate is causing some of his opponents to alter their strategy.

Mike Huckabee is taking heat from Democrats and establishment Republicans for his blunt comments on President Obama’s Iran nuclear deal. Outspoken candidates like Huckabee, Trump and Cruz are making the news cycles and firing up the base. What’s wrong with that?

“She’s a great person,” Trump said, “and Todd and the whole family. These are great people. And one of the things I most admire about her is that she took so much nonsense — lies and disgusting lies and she handles it so well. She’s tough and smart and just a great woman.”

Donald Trump’s staying power in opinion surveys has many pondering whether he can actually win the Republican nomination. Also, the latest on Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee and the struggle to qualify for next week’s debate.

Another new poll out of New Hampshire indicates that Donald Trump’s recent dust-up with John McCain has not slowed the billionaire’s political momentum. Trump now has a 2-to-1 advantage over Jeb Bush among likely voters in New Hampshire’s Republican primary, according to a Monmouth University Poll.

The GOP establishment is trying hard to downplay Donald Trump’s chances of actually winning the nomination, but they can’t ignore the most recent poll numbers. Trump’s message is resonating with Tea Partiers and his support appears to be growing with each successive survey.

Two new polls show Gov. Chris Christie lost support in the early-voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire as Donald Trump surged into the top two of the crowded field vying for the Republican nomination for president.