Trump campaign unable to take advantage of Clinton problems

One key sign of the problems facing Republican Donald Trump's campaign is that it is often unable to take advantage of events and stories that could be used to cast his opponent in a bad light. NBC News has an article this morning that describes two recent missed opportunities:

Unforced Errors: Donald Trump Misses on Two Hillary Clinton Stories

Hillary Clinton's campaign should be reeling from two unflattering news stories this week that play right in Donald Trump's hands.

But instead, the GOP candidate missed an opportunity by diverting attention away from the Democrat with another unforced error about himself....

The conservative legal group Judicial Watch Tuesday evening released emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit that appear to show Clinton aides mixing State Department business with that of the Clinton Foundation, even though the then-secretary of state said she would sever ties with the Foundation when she entered government....

Meanwhile on Monday, NBC affiliate WPTV spotted the father of Orlando mass shooter Omar Mateen at a Clinton rally in Kissimmee, Florida, prompting outrage from some survivors of the nightclub shooting....

While they merit scrutiny, neither storyline is damning on its own and would need fanning to stay alive more than a day.

Following allegations that his wife's speech at the Republican National Convention included plagiarized content, Trump tweeted a reference to the idea that all publicity is good publicity. If the spotlight continues to shine brightly on his own missteps while keeping Hillary Clinton's out of the public eye, he may come to conclude otherwise.