OK, show of hands: Who thinks the donald is trying to get out of the race?

[lindysalsagal]

Count me in.

[Kalidurga]

1. It would seem so

It's like he is thinking well if I say this crazy thing I will surely sink in the polls and every time he does that he gets a bump.

[CTyankee]

2. I'm surprised he hasn't tired of it already. He strikes me as one who likes instant

gratification. This can't be too gratifying right now...

[tanyev]

17. Yeah, I really can't believe he wants to be president for 4 loooong years.

Oh, he might get a kick out of it for a few weeks, but when none of his crazy-ass ideas get implemented immediately, he'd blame everyone else and move on to a project more worthy of him.

[FLPanhandle]

3. I think he entered it for publicity and was shocked that he's winning.

Even he knows that he will kill the GOP chances if he wins.

He got what he wanted and will exit on top and will ride this wave of popularity for a long time.

[KittyWampus]

7. Yeah, at some point the establishment Republicans will bring forth the dirt.

I am certain Trump has some really unsavory stuff he doesn't want public.

His brand is already taking a beating.

[lindysalsagal]

10. But, if you're right, what's taking them so long? n/t.

[FLPanhandle]

11. almost 50,000 posts!

Save the next one!

[3catwoman3]

20. Dirt? Unsavory stuff?

From a man whose favorite book is the Bible? (Ri-i-i-i-i-i-i--i-i-i-i-ight!)

Surely Mr. Trump is as pure as the proverbial driven snow.

[joshcryer]

13. Yep, and I think the current rhetoric is designed...

...to appeal to the base. He actually read that ban Muslims speech. Not ranted, read it calmly, as if his copy testers told him it would sell.

He's getting serious about it now.

[steve2470]

41. yep, you nailed it, he read it calmly and with forethought

He's going to ride this wave until he can't ride it any longer. God help us if he wins the primaries and the General Election.

[global1]

18. I Don't Know That I Agree With You...

As I think not only has he damaged the Repug brand - but he's damaged his own brand as well.

Before he got political - at least I could deal with his spiel because there was some entertainment value in his Apprentice series of programs. If you looked past his ego - some of the projects that they worked on in the Apprentice - especially the ones for charity had some redeeming value.

Now that he's become a political figure we really get a good look at the person that Trump is - and it ain't pretty.

I won't watch, listen to or even give him any consideration going forward.

I believe he damaged his brand beyond repair - except for those few low-info people that weigh on his every word and would follow him wherever he leads them. Fortunately I believe they are a smallest of small minority.

I also believe the business community that he deals with - whether domestic or foreign - will also view him much differently and will deal with him at an arms length if at all. I think he will become a 'pariah' in the business world.

He's lucky he's rich - because he'll have to live off of his past successes because his future won't be as promising.

That's just my opinion of this.

[adigal]

32. I agree with everything you say, except when you say "those few low-info people that weigh on his

every word." You mean the 20% of Republicans who support him??? Hardly a few.

[tammywammy]

44. Trump's biggest base are non-college educated white males. n/t

[stevil]

30. My take similar to yours

His ego informed him he could do the "job" and he probably entered the race with enthusiasm and optimism. He's tired of campaigning and by now probably thinks the "job" is beneath him and if the masses beyond his sight line don't get him there - then its on them. He dreads being on call 24/7 for 4 years and not being able to look after his business interests. He will find a way to exit the race as a hero to his base and blame everyone else for his inability to go all the way. He will have bragging rights for the rest of his life. Baggers will say "That guy should have been President". He wins, but more importantly we win because he walked into the Republican Party as if it were a kegger, drank all the booze, kicked the ass of the smallest guy in the room and took a shit in the middle of the dance floor right before leaving. They will talk about him for years.....

[lunatica]

4. I think he started on a whim and a bet with some buddy of his

But now he's fallen for his own schtik

[KittyWampus]

5. Garrison Keillor did that as a bit in the last Prairie Home Companion

He bet Bill Clinton 2 million dollars the Republicans would NOT nominate him. LOL

[jonno99]

6. Sure seems that way. Seems to me though that he may end up like Richard Prior's

character in 'Brewster's Millions': 'None of the above' wins!

btw: great pic of the SoL: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

Love it!

[randys1]

8. Actually he is going 3rd party to make sure the idiots dont take over and destroy his wealth

He knows the idiot cons or teaparty will dismantle everything due to ignorance and ineptitude and so on.

The first Clinton may actually not have benefited from the 3rd party candidate, Perot, but this Clinton will.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

9. He could just, you know, quit.

Maybe it's an ego thing, but if he's tired of running for president, there's nothing stopping him from saying "Well, America, it's been great" and heading back to Mar a Lago to golf.

[LiberalArkie]

12. His personality would never let him quit. He would pay a sharpshooter to shoot him

right outside a hospital before he could ever allow himself to quit.

[smirkymonkey]

24. Right, I don't think his ego would ever let him quit either, so I'm thinking

that maybe he just keeps on saying more and more outrageous things to destroy his chances completely. The problem is that he has underestimated the crazy of the American public.

[LiberalArkie]

25. I have known way too many executives like him, that would not accept

responsibility for anything that went wrong. There was always someone somewhere to blame. The problem is that the Republicans are finding out what they created, and none of them can accept the blame for it to correct it. In the past they would just blow of the crazy, the white supremes, the religious extremist, etc. Now that they have embraced them they can't find a way out of it. The only ones that the Republicans have that are semi-sane are at the bottom of the list. The only way out for them are some rules at the convention to allow some smoke filled rooms to make the decision who their candidate will be. But if they pick anyone at the bottom, none of the right will support the person.

[BuelahWitch]

21. I think he will, right before the Iowa caucus

Which is when it gets real. For now it's just playtime for rich boys

[Iggo]

14. I still think he's running cover for the other Pubs.

You know, so they can ride in and save the day as the "sensible" candidates.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

15. Trump is an egomaniac who is thriving on the attention.

As long as the media keep broadcasting his craziness and his knuckle-dragging fanboys cheer him on, he'll stay in it. I wouldn't put it past him for a minute to go third-party if the GOP tries to kneecap him, because he cares nothing for the GOP (or the USA). If he does that, whoever the GOP does nominate will lose in a landslide and Trump will be the spoiler and get lots and lots of the media attention he lives for.

[femmocrat]

29. I agree. nt

[SDJay]

16. Not Me

I do think he jumped in for publicity, much like he did last time. It was cynical and goofy but basically just another Trump sideshow from a clown who doesn't seem to care that the majority of the world sees him as a buffoon. Then he started winning. Then he started saying crazier and crazier things. Then his poll numbers kept climbing. I would imagine it dumbfounded him as much as it does the rest of us.

I think he's bought into the idea that he can actually win - not just the nomination, but the whole thing. Is there anyone in the world who's more of a megalomaniac than this scumbag? At this point I think he considers the presidency his rightful place in the world because he's, you know, so much better than everyone else.

I think he's all in at this point, and that scares the hell out of me.

When Dick Fucking Cheney thinks you've gone too far, you know you're out there in uncharted political rhetoric territory.

He's just going to keep going, and yeah, if the Rs get rid of him, he's not going to go quietly.

[MohRokTah]

19. Nope

He'll be in the mid forties by next week.

He'll break fifty percent and have a lock on the nomination if he calls for rounding up Muslims and putting them in concentration camps.

[Denzil_DC]

22. Yup. Said the same to Mrs. Denzil a few hours ago. n/t

[951-Riverside]

23. The way he's doing it would leave him financially ruined and the Trump name in tatters

He's either in this for the long haul or he's got an ace up his sleeve.

I just don't see him saying "beat up that black guy! ban all Muslims! censor the internet!" then saying "Fuck it I'm done"

[CanonRay]

26. No way.

His massive ego is invested now.

[napi21]

27. MAYBE, but I doubt it. His fans are the most radical pubs in the US.

I think he is just trying to keep them riled up.

[femmocrat]

28. Don't think so. I think he is having the time of his life.

He gets more TV time than anyone on the planet. It's a narcissistic egomaniac's every fantasy come true.

I bet he ends up making money on the whole spectacle. He will quit when it is to his advantage and he has gotten all he could out of his exploits.

[adigal]

31. No, he is trying to regain traction with the crazies by upping his game

If he wanted to get out, he'd claim someone was being unfair to him and get out. He is a narcissist, who loves the crowds and adulation. He loves the campaign. As is, the things he is saying could really hurt his businesses if he doesn't win. I think he wants to win, thinking he will be King Of the World, totally misunderstanding the role of President.

[libdem4life]

33. I agree with almost everything up thread. But am leaning toward the "WTF am I into?"

He may be getting the crazies, but even he knows they're crazy. He's not stupid...and I think the shine is rubbing off the shinola. That's my take at present. But, is it ever getting interesting.

How will it affect his wealth, his business cronies, his family...I'm thinking they are no longer amused or totally on board.

Got to admit, it has juiced up the Primary Season.

[RichGirl]

34. He's used to upper class people who kiss his ass...

...so dealing with commoners may get to him after a while...especially if they aren't all adoring him. And...the crowds he gets probably don't bathe on a regular basis...so...

[MADem]

35. He's playing the racist Bulworth, IMO--saying every outrageous thing he can think of, in hopes

that people will reject him.

He's probably going to have to call for concentration camps before people start to reject him--and even then, he'll probably have brownshirt cheerleaders hooting and hollering for more.

[GummyBearz]

36. I do

[Skittles]

37. HELL no

he is a narcissistic bully

[Texasgal]

38. I don't think so at all.

I think his hateful rhetoric is a blast for his supporters! It's actually quite scary how many people really like this idiot!!

[BlueCheese]

39. It would make for a great play or movie.

The candidate who runs for president as an attention-grabbing stunt, unexpectedly finds himself as a frontrunner, and tries to get himself out of it by sabotaging his own campaign-- except every crazy thing he says only makes him more popular.

[SheilaT]

40. No, not at all.

If he wanted to quit, he'd just quit the race.

He has an ego the size of Andromeda galaxy. He's delusional, and truly believes he can win this thing and that he'd make a totally AWESOME president. He doesn't have any idea that he hasn't a clue about what the Constitution actually says, how laws are made, how much power a president does or doesn't have. He thinks running the country is just like running one of his businesses, and who cares if he declares bankruptcy every so often?

I think he's in it for his version of the long haul. If he gets out before the end, meaning before the primaries are over, it will be on what he sees as his terms. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he does make a third party run if at some point it's obvious he won't get the nomination. And he'll still think he'll win that way, because he does not understand just how our political process really works, and how his third party run would just very neatly split the Republican vote, assuring the Democratic nominee will win the general election.

[dickthegrouch]

42. There is no try, only "Do" and "Do, Not".

To quote a certain famous small green creature.

If he wants out, all he has to do is withdraw. Foolishness such as inciting others to hatred and riot is not the rational way to withdraw.

[Blue_In_AK]

43. I wish...

[Bonx]

45. I have no idea, but hope so.

He's terrible for the US.

[alcibiades_mystery]

46. Springtime for Hitler on a grand stage

He's trying to fail, and it's a hit.

[lindysalsagal]

47. Beautiful!!!!

[a la izquierda]

48. Like some others have said before...

my husband thinks this is one huge trolling experiment.

I'm a historian. I view this whole thing a bit more darkly.

[Scuba]

49. Andy Kaufman performance art. What else could it possibly be?