It took Donald Trump to figure out the only person in the country who might be able to defeat Donald Trump. And that person is, Donald Trump.
All his mistakes, failures to apologize, bombast, manly proclamations, insults to women, Hispanics, African-Americans, Muslims, Jews and others alone didn’t do it. But the weight of it all of it is adding up.
Trump had a very bad week. He was pressed on a subject he clearly knows little about (well, one of the subjects he knows little about) – abortion On a 50-50 issue, he succeeded in getting about 90 percent of the population against him. He was asked if abortion is outlawed and a woman had one, should she be put in jail for breaking the law. Absolutely, he said, clearly taking a shot that was the right-wing answer.
But it’s a view with which neither the left nor the right wings agree. For the first time in his campaign, Trump recanted within hours. It was what, for Trump, passes as admitting a mistake. That on top of his horrible approval rating with women – who make up more than half the voting population – brings his total women's support to, at my estimation – two, his wife and his daughter. And if you think I’m exaggerating, we’ll never know – because I’m sure if asked his daughter and wife will say they are voting for him, even if they’re not.
Within a couple of days he was in D.C. meeting with the GOP national chairman, supposedly trying to make nice as he, finally, realizes (this is my assumption, nothing he has said) that if/when he doesn’t win enough delegates to claim a first-ballot nomination, he’s in deep trouble. Ted Cruz, reports have it, is, as expected, getting folks supportive to him. That's because delegates are pledged to a candidate only on the first ballot. After filling their obligation on that first ballot (based on how their state's primary or caucus went, they are free to vote for anyone they choose. Anyone.
Bombast doesn’t win among those people, loyalty – to either the candidate or the party – wins.
Which brings us to Trump’s loyalty. He demonstrated this week that he is loyal to his campaign manager who was charged for manhandling a female reporter who had the audacity to ask Trump a question AFTER a 45-minute press conference. She was armed, it must be noted, with a ball point pen that was in full view so Trump later said she was a danger to his safety.
He showed he is not true to his word because he said he no longer was going to keep his pledge to support whomever the GOP nominee is. Why? Because the party hasn’t been “nice” to him. You see, Trump is finally recognizing, I think, that nice doesn’t win in politics. But understanding the rules and following them does. Trump reportedly is losing so far to Ted Cruz in the choosing-the-delegates contest. His cries that if he is the leader after the primaries are over, he should win whether he wins 50 percent of the delegates plus one (which is the rule). Not the way it works Mr. Trump. The delegates decide, and you need to be able to have delegates elected who will be loyal to you. Clearly, Trump has a problem understanding the word loyalty. And while he is scrambling to get good staff who understand the party's rules, he is late to that game.
So, while he still could be the nominee, I’m sticking to my guns and continuing to say he will not be. If he can’t win on the first ballot, I don’t think he wins. And, if he can’t be loyal to the party whose nomination he seeks, I don’t think he can win.
All his mistakes, failures to apologize, bombast, manly proclamations, insults to women, Hispanics, African-Americans, Muslims, Jews and others alone didn’t do it. But the weight of it all of it is adding up.
Trump had a very bad week. He was pressed on a subject he clearly knows little about (well, one of the subjects he knows little about) – abortion On a 50-50 issue, he succeeded in getting about 90 percent of the population against him. He was asked if abortion is outlawed and a woman had one, should she be put in jail for breaking the law. Absolutely, he said, clearly taking a shot that was the right-wing answer.
But it’s a view with which neither the left nor the right wings agree. For the first time in his campaign, Trump recanted within hours. It was what, for Trump, passes as admitting a mistake. That on top of his horrible approval rating with women – who make up more than half the voting population – brings his total women's support to, at my estimation – two, his wife and his daughter. And if you think I’m exaggerating, we’ll never know – because I’m sure if asked his daughter and wife will say they are voting for him, even if they’re not.
Within a couple of days he was in D.C. meeting with the GOP national chairman, supposedly trying to make nice as he, finally, realizes (this is my assumption, nothing he has said) that if/when he doesn’t win enough delegates to claim a first-ballot nomination, he’s in deep trouble. Ted Cruz, reports have it, is, as expected, getting folks supportive to him. That's because delegates are pledged to a candidate only on the first ballot. After filling their obligation on that first ballot (based on how their state's primary or caucus went, they are free to vote for anyone they choose. Anyone.
Bombast doesn’t win among those people, loyalty – to either the candidate or the party – wins.
Which brings us to Trump’s loyalty. He demonstrated this week that he is loyal to his campaign manager who was charged for manhandling a female reporter who had the audacity to ask Trump a question AFTER a 45-minute press conference. She was armed, it must be noted, with a ball point pen that was in full view so Trump later said she was a danger to his safety.
He showed he is not true to his word because he said he no longer was going to keep his pledge to support whomever the GOP nominee is. Why? Because the party hasn’t been “nice” to him. You see, Trump is finally recognizing, I think, that nice doesn’t win in politics. But understanding the rules and following them does. Trump reportedly is losing so far to Ted Cruz in the choosing-the-delegates contest. His cries that if he is the leader after the primaries are over, he should win whether he wins 50 percent of the delegates plus one (which is the rule). Not the way it works Mr. Trump. The delegates decide, and you need to be able to have delegates elected who will be loyal to you. Clearly, Trump has a problem understanding the word loyalty. And while he is scrambling to get good staff who understand the party's rules, he is late to that game.
So, while he still could be the nominee, I’m sticking to my guns and continuing to say he will not be. If he can’t win on the first ballot, I don’t think he wins. And, if he can’t be loyal to the party whose nomination he seeks, I don’t think he can win.
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