Posted on 04/19/2016 11:37:58 AM PDT by Kaslin
A lot of very smart political people predict that Donald Trump will arrive at the Republican convention in Cleveland shy of the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the nomination on the first ballot.
Here’s why I don’t think that’s the way it will play out.
To begin with, you’ve got to understand Trump’s mentality—and I believe I understand him better than most people outside his immediate family.
I’ve known Trump for 35 years, met with him on numerous occasions, talked to him on the phone countless times, traveled with him, and written two lengthy magazine cover stories about him.
One cover story appeared in the December 2013 issue of Vanity Fair and was titled “Trump Family Values.”
In that story, I reported that the once nearly bankrupt Trump had figured out a way to make a comeback and become a billionaire.
The second cover story appeared in the August 2012 issue of Newsmax magazine and was titled “The Trump Effect.”
In that story, I explained Trump’s appeal to a vast swath of Americans—“blue-collar and low-level white collar workers who say that they’re tired of hearing the same old political falderal from career politicians.”
What I learned from reporting these stories is that Trump always has an ace in the hole.
In the case of the Republican convention, where he may arrive 50 to 100 votes short of the necessary 1,237, his ace will be the 136 unbound delegates.
Trump has already identified each one of these 136 free-to-vote-for-whomever-they-please delegates and has begun to woo them.
And, let’s not forget, he is the master of the deal.
How quick they forget.
Must be
Or maybe he just is “evolving”. Isn’t that the term that Donald uses for his flipflops?
He already explained his strategy in reference to swaying delegates. Free trip on a private 757, and golf and Mara Lago (how ever it’s spelled)
Ok...since you are being so nice.../sarcasm
Let me ask you...
Why do trump supporters get so bent out of shape when Cruz is using the already established rules to get more delegates?
While Trump has used the “rules” in business all is life to gain advantages over others?
There is a distinct difference between unbound delegates and those who are bound by the peoples’s vote. But that concept seems to escape Cruz and his supporters. Principles no longer matter where he is concerned. 5 dollars, 10 dollars, he will accept money from anyone.
Probably because those rules are written to grant power to party insiders and it makes voting irrelevant.
Trump wasn’t doing anything that sabotaged an election and that’s the difference.
Trump’s donations (bribes) were done to make sure that permits aren’t delayed, that materials get delivered on time and that unions wouldn’t go on strike during construction. That’s a reality of major construction in an urban center dominated by a political machine. You give to the big dogs and they make sure that the little dogs behave.
Most delegates are not politicians.
It’s the first ballot or go home - and he knows it. There is no turning back.
Now stop it; just stop it. You’re going to confuse them.
“Cruz is not like a fart in a whirlwind, he has a distinct odor to him, one of pandering hypocrisy.”
I was referring to the “fleeting nature” of his campaign. But of course he does have a distinct odor. It’s like the one I get when I walk across the front lawn just after the dog’s been out, and I have to clean off my shoe.
“Trump has already identified each one of these 136 free-to-vote-for-whomever-they-please delegates and has begun to woo them.
And, let’s not forget, he is the master of the deal.”
Good luck with that. He’s burned down more bridges than the Nazis during World War II.
Trump WASN’T “the master of the deal” in Colorado or Wyoming, let alone Louisiana, Georgia, or anywhere else.
Instead, he’s been completely unimpressive in “wooing” any delegate on a one to one basis. What makes anyone think he can pull of this deal?
His only ace in the hole is the selfish “me-first” Kasich, who will probably make a last minute deal with him to become his VP.
I doubt if Trump has identified those 136 unbound delegates - primarily because most of them haven’t been selected yet!
The way things have been going, most delegates, even many of Trump’s delegates, don’t like Trump and what he’s trying to do to their party. That could make things really interesting at the convention, even on the first ballot.
I think Trump could have corralled a lot of the unbound delegates if he hadn’t adopted his recent scorch the earth policy of calling the various caucuses examples of cheating, etc.
However, now a lot of those delegates now probably feel about Trump the way he appears to feel about them. The longer-term effect of his short-term strategy of calling “cheater” just might bite him on the butt when he goes looking for unbound delegates now.
Good catch, if true, as I suspect it is.
Probably because those rules are written to grant power to party insiders and it makes voting irrelevant.
Trump wasn’t doing anything that sabotaged an election and that’s the difference.
I don’t consider Cruz as GOP establishment...I think Cruz is hated as much as Trump by the “party insiders”
But when it comes down to it, I would expect (I could be wrong) that Cruz and Trump supporters/delegates would fight the establishment together.
An enemy of my enemy is my friend type of deal.
Admittedly, I prefer Cruz, but I believe that if the establishment tries to give the nomination to someone besides Cruz or Trump, then the party would be
“blown up”!! (If that is the right terminology)
I agree, it’s all or nothing, shoot the moon.
If he pulls it off, the rending of garments by his enemies will reach biblical proportions, not to mention the lamentations of their women.
Not elected political office holders but they certainly are political.
As are most of the people on this forum...
“However, now a lot of those delegates now probably feel about Trump the way he appears to feel about them. The longer-term effect of his short-term strategy of calling “cheater” just might bite him on the butt when he goes looking for unbound delegates now.”
And that would be true justice.
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