The advice is meant generally as a matter of having a habit of listening and considering before speaking. This has nothing to do with being able to handle a deb

The advice is meant generally as a matter of having a habit of listening and considering before speaking. This has nothing to do with being able to handle a debate partner. Prudence is assumed here, as always. (W.r.t. Trump, I would not say his style is "designed", even if it is exploited. As a New Yorker, his pauses are conventionally short relative to those used in other regions of the US such that someone from some place like Texas, where pauses are longer, may not be able to catch the pause in time or even discern the pause at all. So his interlocutor must realize that this is the case and respond accordingly.)