Posted on 07/23/2015 8:46:45 AM PDT by Kaslin
After a few days of vacation, I wondered whether the Donald Trump phenomenon would have burnt itself out somewhat, as it did four years ago in a summer fizzle. Instead, Trump’s polling has strengthened nearly to the same level as in the spring of 2011 among Republican primary voters. So why is Trump picking this time to threaten to leave the GOP? The Hill’s exclusive interview with the mogul this morning includes a demand for fairness from the RNC from Trump, with an explicit warning that Trump may consider a third-party run:
“The RNC has not been supportive. They were always supportive when I was a contributor. I was their fair-haired boy,” the business mogul told The Hill in a 40-minute interview from his Manhattan office at Trump Tower on Wednesday. “The RNC has been, I think, very foolish.”
Pressed on whether he would run as a third-party candidate if he fails to clinch the GOP nomination, Trump said that “so many people want me to, if I don’t win.”
“I’ll have to see how I’m being treated by the Republicans,” Trump said. “Absolutely, if they’re not fair, that would be a factor.”
Two aspects of this strike me as strange. First, it seems a tad bit whiny for a multibillionaire who publicly backed Hillary Clinton for VP seven years ago to complain that the RNC may be unfair to him. Isn’t this the same man who claims to be fearless because he’s not beholden to anyone? And what precisely would “unfairness” look like, anyway? No one’s talking about locking Trump out of the debates — at least not yet.
Trump extends the umbrella to other Republicans as well, which seems to suggest that he doesn’t want to face any tough criticism, even as he’s ripping them repeatedly from the campaign trail. That looks a bit thin-skinned, again rather surprising from a man whose selling point is his toughness and bluntness.
Second, this also looks a bit premature. Trump waited a while four years ago to start pressing the third-party run button, which ended up pressuring Republicans to come kiss the ring — most notably Mitt Romney, who took a lot of flak for it in the media due to Trump’s focus on birtherism. Trump’s ascending in the polls among Republican voters now, not descending, so why choose this moment to threaten to make their path to defeating Hillary Clinton more difficult? It’s true that some frustrated GOP voters have sympathy for a party schism, but in the past those impulses have coalesced around figures like Sarah Palin, who had a lifetime of solid conservative credentials — not someone who was backing Democrats until seven years ago, pushing Canadian-style health care reform, and demurring on action regarding late-term abortions.
Finally, one has to wonder just how seriously to take this. The threat’s not entirely an empty one, but it would take more dedication than Trump has shown thus far. His second-quarter fundraising numbers came to less than $2 million, all but $93,000 of it from his own pocket. The Republican and Democratic nominees will get on the ballots in the states because the state parties already have the infrastructure to manage that process. Ross Perot had to spend a ton of money — some his, much of it from donors — to replicate that as an independent, and so far Trump hasn’t put the time or money into the organization necessary to run a campaign within the GOP, let alone outside of the two-party system.
Trump’s most likely pulling the media’s chain and giving it a juicy narrative just for the sake of its juiciness. That’s a pretty good description of the whole Trump 2016 phenomenon, just as it was of the Trump 2012 phenomenon.
Update: Speaking of chain-pulling, here’s what Trump said about this literally the day before this interview while speaking with Dana Loesch (via Matthew Newman):
I spoke with 2016 contender Donald Trump today on my Blaze television program and asked him about sharing Lindsey Graham’s cell phone number with the public, the Planned Parenthood controversy, same sex marriage, what he would do to fix the VA, and whether he intends to run third party — which he flatly denied. Said Trump:
“I will only ever run as a Republican.”
Er … yeah.
You can make your point about 1992 and 1996 all you want.
But I’ll tell you this:
I voted for Bush in 1992 and Dole in 1996.
In 2016 I will not vote for Jeb. Not if you come into the booth with me and point a gun to my head. Pull the trigger. I really don’t care. I’ll vote 3rd party (with or without Trump running) if Jeb is the nominee.
Please listen, RNC. I am very serious. I am not alone.
“Cruz likes Trump.”
If he really did, he’d drop out and throw Trump his support.
Part if that expense. In NH renting a parking lot from church (DONATION) and renting VHS to transport people so they wouldn’t have to walk a distance How many votes did he get fir that act of kindness?
They hate DT for using their own Alinsky techniques against them.
I think that’s why people are flocking to him.
Most of them probably have no idea who Alinsky was and have never heard of Rules For Radicals.
"Alinsky, you magnificent bastard, I read your BOOK!"
You get it. As awful as Jeb is I believe Trump thinks he is better than Hillary. Trump will run 3rd party against Jeb and Hillary to screw him BUT ONLY if Jeb and the Republican elites screw The Donald via dirty tricks.
Trump is serving notice that he can turn a Republican Presidential Nominee into ashes their mouths
Exactly...Perot offered options that were far more appealing than anything Bush offered...I didn't vote for Perot to get something over on Bush...If I had wanted Clinton to win I would have voted for Clinton...I felt there was a chance Perot could win...
But the knowledge and concept of bullying is something they all are aware of...even the low information people
>>>Sorry, he said the other day he wouldn’t run third party, now he is waffling. That’s clearly a flip flop.<<<
Gee, let’s examine your flip flop theory.
A nice Liberal Family Man opposes the Death Penalty. The next day, his Wife and Children are Murdered and the Perp is in Custody.
After his Family is Murdered in Cold Blood, the nice Liberal Family Man decides that maybe there is a reason the State should be enforcing the Death Penalty after all.
For him it could be revenge, could be that removing the Perp from the face of the Earth will spare others the Pain he feels or he simply figures out that the Death Penalty is actually a Deterrent.
The point is, things change. The GOP threatened to screw Trump over, so they may Reap what they Sow. The GOP paints themselves into a corner and it’s Trump’s fault, yeah right.
Yes, I know my example is extreme, but the point is that People adapt to the Reality they experience. I wouldn’t consider my example of the Liberal Family Man to be a Flip Flopper, he is merely reacting to a reality that he didn’t even know existed.
Like anyone else that has attacked Trump, they lit the Fuse and Trump threw the Bomb right back into their Laps, BOOM.
I remember Bush acting like a Door Mat and what did that get us, Obama. Good or bad, Trump is not a Door Mat.
I agree.
Nobody likes a bully.
And bullies can’t stand it when their targets fight back or draw boundaries.
Americans have been bullied for too long.
Yes. The American people have not really selected their candidate for sometime. They are tired of the machines (both parties) telling them who/what is best for them.
With the internet the parties can no longer control the message.
FREEDOM!
Stop putting words in my mouth. Where did you see me saying anything about Cruz or Walker being RINO’s? Point it out please. The RINO’s are obvious...those who are attacking other republicans but never any democrats.
You always like to twist and obfuscate other posters?
My husband was saying the other day that someone must have really missed DT off.
If the communist trend continues unabated, his business will be in jeopardy.
I believe that is his motivation.
It might be self serving.
But if it can be stopped all Americans will benefit.
Too early for Cruz or anyone to drop out. besides Trump needs at least one intelligent partner in the debates.
Trump+Cruz Versus dozen RINO’s is a fair fight.
For the record I did NOT pass judgment on
what happened in ‘92. I just pointed out
a potential similarity. As a practical matter,
vote or don’t vote however your thoughts
dictate. Personally, I intend to give a lot
of consideration to the type of Supreme Court
justice nominee list that a candidate might
have. I am not at all sure that a liberal and
a GOPe judge nominee list would look EXACTLY the
same.
McCain won only 33% of the vote and became the nominee. Bush doesn’t have to win anywhere near a majority of the votes doing the same thing. It boils down to each state and how delegates are determined. Winner take all versus proportionally. Open primary versus a closed primary. Jeb doesn’t need conservatives to win.
I have no problem with that.
Ain't gonna vote GOPe again. I've done that too much.
Agree totally.
As long as the conservatives get split between several others.
Trump is not a conservative either.
Trump’s plane has landed! He’s meeting with folks/dignitaries (?), shaking hands.
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