Media now hyperventilating because Trump said 'bad hombres'

It's not their main anti-Trump debate storyline, of course. That's the whole Trump-won't-accept-the-election-result nonsense, and we'll get to that posthaste. But you need more than one trivial waste of time to avoid talking about the collapse of ObamaCare and the weakness of GDP growth. So have at it, media. You know you want to. Oh deary me, Trump said "bad hombres". How will those of us in decent society ever live or breathe having heard this condemnable phrase? You'll notice right there at the end that Hillary gets a big grin on her face after Trump says "bad hombres." That's because she knows exactly how her media friends operate, and she knows that they will take that phrase and run with it as "racist" or as an "unforced error," which will give her yet one more day in which she's spared having all her many scandals in the headlines.

And sure enough:

Donald Trump’s utterance of “bad hombres” during Wednesday night’s presidential debate echoed across both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Within minutes, the Republican nominee was getting a lashing about his mangling of English and Spanish. Trump — whose proposal for a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border helped fuel his rise to the party nomination — blamed some “bad hombres here” for drug epidemics around the country, and promised to kick them out. “Bad hombres” quickly began trending on Twitter. At a Mexico City barbecue restaurant, an assortment of Mexicans and expats guffawed at “bad hombres.” “I think the way that Trump has talked about Mexicans from the start of the campaign is to call them rapists, criminals, he hasn’t changed,” Santiago Betancourt said at Pinche Gringo BBQ, where about 200 people gathered to watch the debate. “Trump maybe echoes or uses arguments that exist among an American class that he’s betting can make him president. I don’t think it’s a presidential discourse.” Political commentator Ana Navarro, a Republican who often criticizes Trump, offered a Spanish lesson via Twitter. To some, it sounded like Trump said “bad hambres.” “Trump said some stupidity re ‘Bad hombres’: Spanish lesson 101: hombre=man; hambre=hunger; hombro=shoulder; ombre=Kardashian hair color,” Navarro said.

Yes, that is allegedly a serious news story. I kid you not. Think about the asymmetry here. A few weeks ago, Hillary called half of all Trump's supporters "deplorable." Trump referred very specifically to the worst of the worst criminals among the illegal alien community as "bad hombres." Which one do you think became an instant cause for media hyperventilation? Of course. Two things about this: First, when did we become a totally humorless country? The term "bad hombres" has been used millions of times by millions of people in casual conversation, and no one ever thought it was racist or objectionable. But our political class is now wound so tight that the mere mention of it in a presidential debate has hearts all a-flutter. Second, I told you yesterday and I'll tell you again right now: The media chooses its headlines of the day based on how to help Hillary win the news cycle. An awful lot of things were talked about during that debate, and basically every single one was more important than the fact that Trump said "bad hombres." Yet that's what they're going on about today. And yes, it will move the needle with independent voters because this is the sort of thing independent voters care about for some reason. You can call it an "unforced error" all you want, but I don't think there's any way for Trump to avoid such a thing. No matter what he says, they're going to alight on something. It's just a matter of what works for them. It could be a phrase like this that is obviously innocuous, or if not that it will be something else. The story is pre-written before the debate: "Trump raises eyebrows by saying X." It's just a matter of what will work to stand in for the X. Meanwhile, we prefer these bad hombres!

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