“I got one for you... What if Trump had decided to run as a democrat...”
If he had the same positions as now, he would have been laughed out of the party. If he ran on their platform on major issues, he would have probably split the Bernie vote.
Now if he ran 3rd Party with his positions (and with a Jeb/Rubio type as the Republican), he absolutely would have split the Republican vote and probably come in second to Hillary. He actually would have reduced the Republican Party to 3rd Party status - that’s how much the base DESPISES the party leadership.
I disagree with you. Bernie and Hillary would be fighting it out, and Trump cooly in the middle bringing in millions of new voters to the democratic party. He would be harkening to the grand old days. Disenfranchised people like us, who’ve gone with the republicans all of our lives would have crossed over.
Trump is a leader. He leads. In a sense he’s not republican or democrat. He’s conservative, to be sure, but I think the democrats would be loving him if he were one of theirs.