# What will the Republicans do if Trump implodes before the convention? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 7, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709 "2016-06-07T02:32:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/1 "2016-06-07T02:32:05Z")
Trump seems like he is really picking up speed when it comes to the crazy talk. He has now resorted to throwing some from his own campaign under the bus with regards to playing damage control regarding Judge Curiel. > **[Donald Trump's Presidential Campaign is Completely Imploding](https://www.politicususa.com/2016/06/06/donald-trumps-presidential-campaign-is-completely-imploding.html)** > > From his temper tantrums to his inexcusable racism, the past week has been devastating for Donald Trump. What do you all think will happen if the Trump craziness continues to pick up speed and he withdraws before the convention? Is there any chance this will happen, or is the possibility of Trump withdrawing so far out there to even seriously speculate about? I have no idea what would happen, but whatever it is, I’m sure it wouldn’t be pretty. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/2 "2016-06-07T02:41:05Z")
Maybe after, when the campaign really gets hot. But no way in hell is he going to give up the chance to be in front of the cameras, nationwide, and give a speech before the delegates. That’s absolute heroin to his ego. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/3 "2016-06-07T02:41:32Z")
First, Trump is never, ever going to withdraw. No matter how bad it gets. If advisers tell him he is screwing things up, he’ll get new advisers. This is the guy who still says that Latinos love him. As for the Republicans, many in non-Trump districts are going to find prior commitments during the convention and not go. Others are going to condemn most of what he says and still support him. Actually he might withdraw for one reason - a smoking gun, such as a memo from him explicitly telling his staff to rip off Trump U students. But I doubt any such thing exists. It would have to be bad enough to make even most of his supporters drop him, and not even a sex film of him and an old Miss Universe is going to do that. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/4 "2016-06-07T02:43:17Z")
I have long suspected that Trump has a type of manic personality disorder. This article claims it as well, and that Bill Clinton had a similar type (but was better able to control it). > **[Donald Trump and Bill Clinton Have the Same Secret Weapon](https://newrepublic.com/article/122600/donald-trump-and-bill-clinton-have-same-secret-weapon)** > > A psychologist explains the personality trait that these two ambitious, impulsive men share. The thing about this type of disorder is that stress makes it worse, lack of sleep makes it worse, pretty much everything about being in the public eye constantly and constantly under attack makes it as bad as it can be. I’m sure he’s got very good doctors, but I’m also sure he doesn’t listen to them when he doesn’t want to. Presumably if he has a melt down before the convention the delegates can pick whoever they want, probably Kasich if they want to win. The really interesting thing is what happens if he has a melt down after the convention and before the election. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/5 "2016-06-07T02:57:58Z")
It’s hard to see how Trump can implode. What can he do in the next few weeks that’s more outrageous than what he’s already done? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/6 "2016-06-07T03:02:31Z")
More interestingly, what do they do absent a total meltdown? I’ve been reading articles in the right-leaning blogosphere that have been talking a lot about various procedural ways that Trump might be blocked from getting the nomination, but they all seem pretty out there. The one that makes the **most** sense basically boils down to, “the convention is a private organization and is allowed to change the rules however they damn well please, and anyway we don’t live in a democracy and the Party has to be protected against the tyranny of the majority.” If Trump has an absolute and total meltdown, I suppose they’d just sort of pretend that he’s not the nominee and move forward from there. But what if he just continues on the path he’s on now? We’ve got a few more weeks. By then, we might have the beginnings of indictments against a few AGs (which Trump won’t care about), a lot more racist shenanigans from Trump (which he won’t care about), and a **lot** more frustration from the GOP establishment and his own staffers. What does the party do if they all collectively decide that maybe this isn’t the Caesar they’re looking for, but Trump doesn’t give them the opening to do it the easy way? ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/7 "2016-06-07T03:18:39Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It’s hard to see how Trump can implode. What can he do in the next few weeks that’s more outrageous than what he’s already done? That sounds like a dare … I think the only thing that can save the Republicans now is if Trump has some actual physical breakdown while speaking in public. The only way his supporters would accept replacing him at this point is if he has a stroke in front of the tv cameras. Anything else and they will assume it’s a conspiracy and (effectively) riot and refuse to support anyone else. If Trump dies in a plane crash before the election, it would be just as bad for the Republican party as if they let his candidacy go through. There’s just no easy answers for the Republican party. They’ve let the rot in their party spread out of control. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/8 "2016-06-07T03:30:17Z")
I also harbor a sense that Trump won’t make it to the election, If it were one month, even money, two, hard to say, but five? Can’t prove a word of this, but I would bet not. Hungry, demanding egos are fragile. The polls start turning seriously against him, he will bleed. He’s used to kiss-ups and victims, he has little experience with pain. He will hit the silk. Scarper. Brave, brave, brave Sir Donald. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/9 "2016-06-07T03:47:26Z")
Either party can stop a nominee at the convention just by changing the rules. Trump did not do a good job of picking loyal delegates, so there’s probably plenty of votes to change the rules and deny him the nomination if they are motivated to do so. For the Democrats it’s even easier. The superdelegates either give Clinton the nomination, or they don’t. THey don’t actually even need a rule change. Should they do it? I’m agnostic. The party decides, and then the voters get to decide if that was the right thing. If they put up Kasich, I’d vote for Kasich without reservation, personally. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/10 "2016-06-07T04:12:05Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I also harbor a sense that Trump won’t make it to the election, If it were one month, even money, two, hard to say, but five? > > Can’t prove a word of this, but I would bet not. Hungry, demanding egos are fragile. The polls start turning seriously against him, he will bleed. He’s used to kiss-ups and victims, he has little experience with pain. > > He will hit the silk. Scarper. Brave, brave, brave Sir Donald. I don’t see that happening unless he can find some kind of viable excuse for it. Aside from that, I don’t think he will ever allow himself the belief that he could possibly lose. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/11 "2016-06-07T04:20:25Z")
He’s already field testing his viable exuses! He’s persecuted by the media, the judicial system, and the vast interlocking Mexican/Muslim Alliance. Also, the militant wing of the Unitarians. Mostly, they cast doubts. ---
**Author:** ![DerekMichaels00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerekMichaels00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerekMichaels00)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/12 "2016-06-07T04:26:58Z")
its not gonna happen, unless he literally uses a racial slur, or it would’ve happened already. Trump’s just going this far (overt racist) to get his base out and stay excited to maximize his votes tomorrow so when the count is final, he’ll be able to claim a bigger percentage of the vote than his opponents will have said he initially and a record raw total (especially cuz he’ll have had more opponents than GWB in 2000). ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/13 "2016-06-07T04:33:50Z")
Given the substance of what Trump’s said already, I’d actually be pretty pissed off if the use of a racial slur was what got him knocked off. The guy doesn’t like Muslims or Mexicans much, using derogatory terms to describe them doesn’t actually change anything. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/14 "2016-06-07T04:45:20Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > That sounds like a dare … > I think the only thing that can save the Republicans now is if Trump has some actual physical breakdown while speaking in public. The only way his supporters would accept replacing him at this point is if he has a stroke in front of the tv cameras. Not a literal stroke, but I predict he’s going to get to the point of having one final speech thats completely off the wall even for him, a paranoid ranting frothing meltdown, followed by the announcement that he’s withdrawing from the race for unspecified medical reasons. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/15 "2016-06-07T04:53:09Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > its not gonna happen, unless he literally uses a racial slur, or it would’ve happened already. > **[Senate's Only Black Republican Calls Trump's Attack On Judge 'Racially Toxic'](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tim-scott-donald-trump-racially-toxic_n_57560142e4b0b60682deb6f4)** > > Trump said a Mexican-American judge can't be impartial toward him because Trump plans to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. > [@](#): > > \*\*Senate’s Only Black Republican Calls Trump’s Attack On Judge ‘Racially Toxic’ > \*\* > Republican Sen. Tim Scott on Monday denounced Donald Trump’s remarks that a Mexican-American judge can’t be unbiased in the case involving Trump University, calling them “racially toxic,” CNN reports. > > Scott, who spoke with CNN reporter Manu Raju, is among several Republican leaders who have condemned Trump’s statements about U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel as “wrong,“ “offensive“ and “inappropriate.” > [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > Trump’s just going this far (overt racist) to get his base out and stay excited to maximize his votes tomorrow so when the count is final, he’ll be able to claim a bigger percentage of the vote than his opponents will have said he initially and a record raw total (especially cuz he’ll have had more opponents than GWB in 2000). I’m doubting that. Just about half of the Republicans came up for Trump in the primaries, for sure he is getting the supporters of Cruz, but after that I do think that several Republicans will realize that the country is more important than the party. And no, he is not getting the Hispanics to love him, that is one of Trump’s pathological lies. > **[Donald Trump's Hispanic voter 'doomsday'](https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-36462555)** > > Donald Trump's record low favourability numbers among Hispanics has led some conservatives to worry that their party could suffer lasting electoral damage. Is history repeating itself? > [@](#): > > The animosity of Hispanic voters - 77% of whom have a negative view of Mr Trump according to a March national poll - is a development that has Republican Party officials increasingly concerned. > > Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Mr Trump could be damaging the Republican Party among Hispanic voters the same way 1964 Republican nominee Barry Goldwater’s stand against civil rights legislation led to generations of blacks moving to the Democratic Party. > > “It did define our party, for at least African-American voters, and it still does today,” he told a television interviewer. “That was a complete shift that occurred that year, and we’ve never be able to get them back.” > > Hector Barajas, a Republican strategist from California, agrees. He’s seen record numbers of Hispanics register to vote in his state over the past few months - an indication that Mr Trump’s rhetoric could drive unprecedented turnout among this voting bloc. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/16 "2016-06-07T04:54:55Z")
Country is always more important than party. When will Democrats realize that? ---
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/17 "2016-06-07T05:04:11Z")
Many of you still convinced this whole “Trump for President” thing is just a spectacle with little chance of succeeding, eh? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/18 "2016-06-07T05:04:21Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Country is always more important than party. When will Democrats realize that? As I have sacrificed a lot by being an educator, I already know that, thank you very much. I vote democrat because they are not demonizing me nor are they calling me a traitor like you are implying. And let us rememberer that Trump would like the see the world burn, and not only the USA. > **[As Election Year Unfolds, Climate Concern Rises](https://thinc.blog/2016/03/17/as-election-year-unfolds-climate-concern-rises/)** > > Gallup: Americans are taking global warming more seriously than at any time in the past eight years, according to several measures in Gallup’s annual environment poll. Most emblematic is the … \*\*Donald Trump Dismisses Climate Question from League of Conservation Voters. \*\* ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/19 "2016-06-07T05:11:46Z")
> [@KellyCriterion](#): > > Many of you still convinced this whole “Trump for President” thing is just a spectacle with no chance of succeeding, eh? > > 😕 You are still convinced that getting half (on many occasions just about a third) of the Republican vote in the primaries means that he will succeed? When still Trump has remained behind Clinton in the polls wile he was beating other Republicans? Mind you, I do accept that Trump has a chance, but for him to win it is clear that that will depend on dividing America even more, it is not that Trump can succeed, wonder about the irresponsible cranks that many will support or enable that will get into positions of power in a Trump administration. > **[Of Course Trump Chose a Global Warming Denier as His Energy Adviser](https://slate.com/technology/2016/05/trump-picks-climate-change-denier-as-energy-adviser.html)** > > Donald Trump picks global warming denier Rep. Kevin Cramer as his energy adviser. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709/20 "2016-06-07T06:05:39Z")
Given how unpredictable Trump and his campaign have been, I don’t see how anything can be ruled out 100%. In fact, I’d say there’s a better-than-infinitesimal chance — say maybe 10% — that Trump melts down badly enough that he has to exit the race, accompanied by Palinesque assurances that his bailing out is actually a victory, because “Trump always wins.” Like **elucidator** , I am not convinced Trmp can survive another five months of his own campaign — too many things he can’t control, too many people he can’t bully, too many situations he can’t sue his way out of. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-republicans-do-if-trump-implodes-before-the-convention/756709.md?page=2)