Do Better, Don

Two days after the first presidential debate, top aides and people close to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump admit the candidate's performance was subpar and that he must dramatically improve in his second showdown against Hillary Clinton.

  NBC

And if they want to keep their positions, they better hope he doesn't find out who.

The debate was a "disaster" for Trump, according to one source close to the campaign. Also dissatisfied with the debate performance were Trump's children, according to a campaign aide, who said they wish campaign leadership had forced him to take it more seriously.

Oh, my. Not the children, too! (Actually, I've been guilty of assuming they're no smarter than he is.)

There's also worry within the family that the campaign is having an adverse impact on their business. Trump's children deny this.

So, then, which "family" is worrying?

The internal debate that plagues the Trump campaign surrounds Trump's public persona. Aides say Trump needs to change. The bombastic candidate that worked in the primary isn't right for the general election.

Why? Are there really any fence-sitters at this point who haven't been exposed to his persona?

[T]wo campaign aides told NBC News that Trump didn't do what was needed Monday night at Hofstra University on Long Island and that the reason is because he did not do enough to prepare for the tedious, one-on-one environment against an experienced and well-prepared opponent.

[...]

Trump aides said that a strategy of winging it will not be the path forward in the Oct. 9 showdown in St. Louis. Instead, they will prepare more traditionally, an aide said, including holding mock debates, honing in on specific policy points and developing strategies to exploit Clinton's weaknesses. The campaign is even contemplating bringing in a professional debate coach.

Since he already made a very public dig at Hillary for actually leaving off campaigning to prepare for the first debate, I'll be curious to see how he spins preparation. On the other hand, his aides and campaign staff don't seem able to change Trump's "persona", and he doesn't seem to be able to focus beyond 90 seconds, so 90 minutes is virtually impossible. Besides, he's been saying he did a fantastic job in the first debate and that everybody else thought so, too. He WON in his mind. Also, he had a bad mic, and Lester Holt was unfair. Right?

Trump thinks that he performs best when he is unpracticed and he was worried that over-preparation would cause too much pressure and result in him freezing on stage.

There you go.

Advisers and aides, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ret. Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, campaign COO Steve Bannon and aide Stephen Miller, sat in a circle and simply threw questions at Trump to ready him for the first debate.

And what? Let him rant and called it okay? I bet they didn't dare bring up anything that pissed him off.

But privately, aides know that — and Trump admits — he doesn't like to lose. Some aides are hopeful this was a wake-up call.

Hope is not a strategy. And, he thinks he won.

"The best thing about Trump is that he is a fast learner," another campaign source said.

On what planet?

 ...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.