Carly Fiorina has a new formula for fighting back at Donald Trump: Refuse to take his bait while chipping away at his past behavior.
On Tuesday, reports
Politico, Fiorina mentioned Trump's name just a few times at events in South Carolina, but instead showed her knowledge on a range of key issues, and she thinks her strategy is working.
“It might seem that Donald Trump’s getting a little nervous,” Fiorina responded to a question on Trump. “Maybe I’m getting under his skin.”
Fiorina is in second place in the GOP race, after netting 15 percent of the latest Republican primary voters' response in the
latest CNN/ORC poll after the recent primary debate, with Trump dropping by eight points down to 24 percent.
“The Republican electorate this cycle is attracted to candidates conveying strength," GOP operative Steve Schmidt, who led John McCain's 2008 campaign, told Politico. "Donald Trump and Carly Fiorina are conveying strength better than their rivals, even though they’re doing it in very different ways. Now, with them polling one and two, it’s inevitable that this confrontation is about to come to a head.”
On Tuesday, Fiorina spent the day at a national security forum, offering detailed answers in a contrast with Trump, who has resisted criticism over his lack of such answers when it comes to Middle East factions and leaders.
However, she's having trouble assembling veteran campaign officials, unlike Trump, who on Tuesday announced campaign directors in Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia, states that will hold primary elections on March 1.
She is also fighting back against Trump charges on her tenure at Hewlett-Packard. Her super PAC released a new film, "Citizen Carly," Tuesday night to give a flattering portrayal of her work as CEO of that company. California Sen. Barbara Boxer defeated Fiorina in part through advertising attacking her work at the company, and Trump is already attacking her on the issue.
Schmidt said Fiorina's plan is strategic, as "she's smart enough to know if they're both brawling for a long time, it could amount to a murder-suicide pact that hurts them both," as stopping Trump could open the way for another candidate to move up.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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