'He just prefers to fire at himself': Trump's self-inflicted wounds give Clinton campaign a reprieve

This past weekend, Hillary Clinton handed her presidential rival Donald Trump a political gift by going on Fox News Sunday and, at least according to some fact-checkers, being less than candid in her comments regarding her email scandal.

PolitiFactgave her its lowest "pants on fire"rating whilethe Washington Postawardedher "four Pinocchios"for some of herremarks.

Had the Republican nominee been one of Trump'sdefeated rivals,Clinton's claimswould be leading newscasts and "knocking the wind out of any post-convention bounce she earned in Philly," wroteMeet the Press host Chuck Todd and NBC political reporterCarrieDann.

"Instead, a debate about Trump's lack of empathy for a Gold Star family and a crisis in the GOP is crowding out what should be a solid hit on the Democratic nominee," they wrote for NBC'spoliticalblogFirst Read.

• Trump declines to endorse Paul Ryan, JohnMcCain
• Mike Pence's endorsement of Paul Ryan is a break with Trump

So, instead of running with that gift,Trumpdecided to give his rival one (or a few)of his own.

For starters, he hasn't endedhis public spat with the Muslim familyof a dead U.S. soldier who spoke out against him at the Democratic convention last week. Trump's refusal to back down ensuredheovershadowedany news about Clinton's dubious claims that she's been totallyhonest aboutwhether she used her private email server to handle classified material as secretary of state.

Trump-Khan Feud Intensifies

8 years ago

Duration 2:09

Donald Trump's comments about the family of a fallen soldier have angered voters and members of the Republican Party.

Trump followed that up with more controversial statements that generatedoneheadline after the other.

He claimed the generalelection will be rigged, that Clinton is "the devil,"thathis daughter could just find another job if she was sexually harassed, that he won't yet endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan or Arizona SenatorJohn McCainin their primary races.

• 'No evidence of it happening': Experts scrutinize Trump's claims of election rigging

Trump dominated the headlines even an off-the-cuff remark about getting a cryingbaby "out of here" at one of his rallies became a story.

Violates cardinal rule of politics

And it all meant that Trump was violating one of the cardinal rules of politics, said Stuart Rothenberg,founding editor and publisher of The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report. Trumpwasmakingthe election a referendum on his own shortcomings, not his opponent's.

"You almost never want to make the election about you, particularly when you are controversial,"Rothenberg said. "The more you talk about yourself, the less time you're talking about and letting the media focus on your opponent's weaknesses."

And Clinton has some majorchallenges as a candidate, withrecord-level negatives in the public's view(only Trump's are higher) and significantvoter trust issues.While the email scandal remains a weak spot for Clinton, questions have alsobeen raised about the Clinton Foundation and money contributed by foreign donors during her time as secretary of state.

As well, recently releasedGDP numbers show growth in the last quarter wasjust 1.2 per cent,weaker than the forecasts of most analysts and bad news for a candidate whom many seeasrunning for President Barack Obama's third term.

Clinton'srecord as secretary of state is also full of potential fodder for Trump, as is the fact she hasn'theld a news conference innearly 250 days.

'Plenty of ammunition'

Yet none of that has been getting much attention because Trump's comments onother subjectsensurehe sucks up the media oxygen.

"There's plenty ofammunitionhe has. He justprefersto fireat himself than HillaryClinton," Rothenberg said.

And when he makesthese comments, "reporters are just going to cover that first becauseit's so outrageous, it's so over the top."

Even some of Trump's biggest supporters, like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, say Trump's comments are just helping Clinton.

"The current race is which of these two is the more unacceptable, because right now neither of them is acceptable," Gingrich told the Washington Post. "Trump is helping her to win by proving he is more unacceptable than she is."

• 'Why are you still endorsing him?'Obamaasks Republican leaders about Trump
• Trump doesn't have 'licence to defame,' says Republican Senator JohnMcCain

Republican strategistRon BonjeansaidTrump must focus his criticism back on Clinton because she isn't a great candidate and has problems connecting with American voters.

"However, if he keeps upintra-partyfights, and trying to settle scores, it will keep the media coverage on whether or not Trump is fit to be president instead of making it a referendum on Clinton's failures as a leader."

'Stay out of the way'

DavidLublin,a professor ofgovernmentat American University's School of Public Affairs, said Clintonshould not have gone on Fox News, especially without better answers to the emailquestions.

But for the past few days, he said, shehas largely been obeying another cardinal rule ofpolitics.

"When your opponent is in theprocessof destroying himself, stay out of the way," he said.

Indeed, Obama's former senior adviser and chief political strategistDavid Axelrodtweetedsome advice for Clinton.

"If I were @Hillary Clinton, I might embark on summer tour of America's splendid national parks & cede the stage entirely to @realDonaldTrump."