Salem Radio Network radio host Hugh Hewitt interviewed Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump on Thursday, September 3rd, for the Hugh Hewitt Radio Show.
Trump believed he’d been ambushed with a series of “gotcha” questions regarding the situation in the Middle East, and called Hewitt a “third rate radio host” the following day, despite the fact that he’d sent a note to the show thanking them for the opportunity to 
speak — a fact made evident by co-producer Marlon Bateman, himself a US military veteran, something that Mr Trump is not.
In my opinion, the questions asked by Hugh of Mr Trump were not “gotcha” insofar as they were asked of pretty much every other GOP candidate appearing on Hewitt’s show. These same questions were posed on the same show of Carly Fiorina, for example, who managed to field them and appeared familiar with most of the territory, also including some personal experiences.
For background, Hugh Hewitt will work alongside Jake Tapper on the next GOP debate, September 16th, at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley (to now include Carly Fiorina), hosted by CNN. Tapper will moderate and Hewitt will pitch the questions.
Once this became known, many GOP brokers who formerly disdained any appearance with Hewitt somewhat soiled their shorts in order to line up a segment on his radio show. As a result Hugh has interviewed Chris Christie, Jeb Bush and any number of GOP presidential contenders.
That’s why Trump appeared on Hewitt’s show last week.
That information, therefore, was the requisite set-up for the newest article on Breitbart today, taking a swipe at Mr Hewitt.
From Breitbart.com:
Hugh Hewitt, GOP Debate Questioner, Sides with Establishment, Not Voters
by Julia Hahn
Hugh Hewitt, the moderator picked by GOP leaders for the upcoming candidates’ debate, is firmly on the establishment’s side in its struggle against outsider Donald Trump.
Hewitt is going to be asking the questions in the Sept. 16 debate, and he’s already made clear he doesn’t like Trump—he doesn’t like his populist priorities, and he prefers establishment candidates, such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who has tried since 2012 to boost the migration of lower-wage, profit-boosting foreign workers into the United States.
“No. no, he doesn’t” have the “temperament” to be president, Hewitt said about Trump, to NBC host Chuck Todd Aug. 9.
The thrust of the article is that Hugh Hewitt hates Trump, and that Trump was correct in his labeling of Hugh as a “third rate radio host.”
Mr Hewitt certainly doesn’t need me to fight his wars for him; he’s more than capable of defending himself in any venue. However, some have said — and I am tending to agree — that Breitbart is becoming a bit of Trump Central, where persons or entities that don’t pull the Trump line are run through the Breitbart Ringer.
Frankly, I find that rather disappointing on any number of levels since I utilize Breitbart not only as a valid news source but a form of reference for the blog.
Yes, Hugh pulls a good deal of water for the Republican Party but not all the water imaginable. There are times when I disagree with Hugh (one of those areas being some areas of immigration). But I find that Hugh isn’t selective in terms of how he treats his on-air guests. He particularly attempts to treat those involved in politics in an egalitarian fashion. He did so with Trump, Fiorina, Bush and with Ben Carson — whose interview likewise did not go what could be quantified as “swimmingly.”
I don’t expect Trump or other interviewed pols appearing on the Hugh Hewitt radio show to be perfect; far from it. What I do expect is that presidential candidates have staffs.
And with those staffs, I would expect candidates to have paid for consultation services, and to have researched those places and points where the candidate will interview.
I would expect those staffs to have researched every place I would speak and to have at least a semblance of understanding of that potential interviewer.
Paying a consultant for these considerations should be the last thing Trump is thinking about. That advice to each candidate should already have been made and been in place prior to each interview. Shame on the candidates and their staffs if that hasn’t happened.
It isn’t Hugh’s job to do their job.
Further, you have to be smart enough to realize that the questions Hugh asks, when you appear, may be remarkably similar to the questions he’ll pose on CNN’s September 16th GOP debate.
Hello? (taps on mike) Any of you candidates getting a clue here?
This isn’t “gotcha,” folks. This is called “show prep.” For Hugh and you.
BZ
Exactly BZ. To me a gotcha question is one said with the attempt of tripping up a candidate and making them look bad. If anyone knows anything about Hugh it is that Hugh has cared about the issues he talked about with Trump for a long time as has asked of all the candidates and other guests he has had in his show. So when Huhh asked those questions to Trump -it wasn’t to trip Trump up, it was because he really cares about the issues and wants to know what a presidential candidate thinks about it.
Absolutely correct. Plus, as I said, it should be considered insight into the nature of the questions he’ll pose at the debates.
BZ
FYI, GOP candidates would be well advised to have read Lawrence Wright’s “The Looming Tower” and have an a passing knowledge of Ohio class submarines and the nuclear triad.