I’m not really in favor of them succeeding at this, because whoever fell in behind him would get the biggest Republican voter turnout ever. And all they’d have to be is relatively sane and free from publicly racist comments.
But I think it would actually be quite easy to get him to take his ball and go home.
Trump is a narcissist and a bully. He’s also a thin-skinned impetuous tantrum thrower, who can’t bear the slightest negativity in person.
If he were to be awakened to a large stack of sadly negative poll outcomes, followed by a rollicking series of castigations by several high-ranking old school GOP leaders . . .
a quiet chastisement from Bush the First
a nervous staffer providing a list of high-ranking defectors from the party - citing him as their reason - under the guise of “preparing him” to answer questions about it
one of Dick Cheney’s signature tongue-lashings
a derogatory nick name circulated quietly by Bush the Lesser
a sneering dismissal from Paul Ryan
a full-bore bible thumping excoriation from Mitch MCConnell
. . . and then he stepped up to the podium to find a booing crowd and bad PA system that broke up his words so that he couldn’t get his blather out, I’m betting that’s all it would take to make him fall into a dancing hissy fit and tell them all to shove it.
He’d then defend his actions to the hilt, saying he had always planned to prove how wrong they were about what the people wanted and then leave them to scramble up the pieces, blah, blah blah. He will ALWAYS double-down on bad behavior.
I’d bet they could be rid of him, just that easy. He can’t bear to lose, and he can’t withstand criticism. He’d take his ball and go home with less than the provocation I described above. The moment this campaign ceases to give him the narcissistic supply on which he feeds, he’s going to crumble like the tower of slag he is.
Think it would work? Have a better idea? or a funnier one?
The thing is Trump has always had vocal opposition. In his mind, he’s always been able to show that those opponents were wrong and he was right.
And I think he’s still riding that right now. Plenty of political pundits said he would never be taken as a serious candidate - and he proved them wrong. Then they said the Republicans would outmaneuver him and deny him the nomination - and he proved them wrong again. So when people say he has no chance of winning the general election, he’s probably thinking this is just another case where he’ll show his opponents they’re wrong by winning in the end. (And who knows? He might win.)
If anybody could be taken down by trolling, it is Trump. He already feels the need to respond to every insult from everyone not named Hillary. The more he fights surrogates and pundits, the less focussed on Hillary his message is. If this trolling were to come from Republicans, I think there is a good chance he could be goaded into a meltdown that would so alienate the middle that, if he ever had a chance, he could not be elected.
When Trump started, that was almost certainly the reason.
Given that he has stayed in, instead of dropping out, I think it’s reasonable to assume that he’d be interested in being President. But he’s probably also happy to not be President. If he can get there just by being himself and allowing the chips to fall where they will, then he can basically continue on with his life as usual. If he becomes President, great. If he doesn’t become President, also great.
Donald probably thinks of ballots as sales brochures. He’s about to get his name onto a brochure that will list him as one of the TOP TWO politicians in America. Every voter in America will see it. And he won’t even have to pay the printing costs. This is win win for him, regardless of the ultimate vote.
Guys, deal with it this cycle. You are as fucked as fucked can be. Try to prevent in
2020. This is a center right country. Move to the center. BTW, Cruz ain’t in the center. You need your own Hillary.
