Ok, back to firmly believing Trump wants to lose.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

Think he had a chance, after Indiana, to moderate, learn, act dignified. He could write off the antics to GOP primary. Clean break - maybe memories would fade.
And for a couple hours, he did it.

Said it would be fair and issue oriented.

The man is either an major idiot or he wants to lose. Or both.

[ghostsinthemachine]

1. He wants to lose

Seriously.

[xloadiex]

6. The more I hear

The more I'm thinking along the exact same lines.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. Leopard and spots and all that jazz.

He's pathological. He's been like this for decades, even before he got political. He's not going to change his personality now. It defines him.

[Agnosticsherbet]

3. I think he wants to win. I don't think he's an idiot. He won the nomination

with this kind of ugly rhetoric. He is speaking to an audience he knows well and who salivates like Pavlov's dogs every time Trump barks.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

9. He wasn't an idiot - he knew how to gather up the crazies to win the GOP

nom. But, he is not smart enough to realize he has to moderate and "dignify" his demeanor to win the general

[Agnosticsherbet]

22. I thinks it is more a case of hubris and arrogance than a lack of smarts.

[avebury]

4. To be issue oriented

Trump must first actually understand the issues.

[CincyDem]

5. ya gotta dance with the one that brung ya

His abrasiveness, abusive narcissistic personality is what got him through the pack of 17. No matter what political consultants tell him, he's his own brand manager and I doubt that he's going to change a thing.

While many (most/all) of us here look at that approach as idiotic, there he has a yuuuuuge following of those who disagree with us.

He's a crapshit politician and a worse person but, in all of that, he's a great marketer who doesn't want to lose and is playing to a broken part of this country. I think he falls into the "underestimate him at your own peril" category.

[Cosmocat]

12. YEP

that's the answer.

It's his nature generally, but he got this far appealing the stupid, he isn't going to go away from it now.

[Takket]

7. oh he wants to win....

I wish he wanted to lose, but he really is just that much of a narcissist maniac.

but we should be grateful for the service he has provided, showing the next generation of young voters exactly what the GOP is behind all the dog whistles.

[BlueMTexpat]

8. He is a major idiot who wants

to win.

He literally thinks that he can run the government - not even so much as a business - but more as a reality show like "The Apprentice," with himself as the bullying Decider-in-Chief.

Only a major idiot with a supreme sense of entitlement and narcissism would believe anything like that.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

13. None of it makes any sense to me. I always watched

the apprentice - not for him at all - but because watching human behavior is interesting to me.

I never saw him act non-dignified at all on his show. He was calm, measured, thoughtful, and typically saw what most viewers did with the good and the bad contestants.

The man ran 500 companies - so he obviously knows how to delegate...and no one seems to have dug up anything horribly earth-shattering about his actions.

He has probably dined with kings, been to the opera, been to very formal events. and I have never heard anyone say he spit his peas at anyone.

Bottom line, he knows how to behave. So, why on earth, would he believe that his childish crudeness would win a general election??

[apnu]

10. I don't think he's got the brains for this.

Its not a matter of "wants" or "does not want" to lose. He's simply not mentally equipped for what he's doing. He has no policy, no plans, he's clearly making it up as he goes along and lying about everything because that's what he does. He says whatever enters his brain immediately, there is no filter, no plans, no strategy, no point even.

[DCBob]

11. correct answer.

[FSogol]

14. +1. Exactly. Also his value system is based on Rich=good, Bad=poor, so he goes for dazzle

and hires all the wrong people to assist him. Ben Carson is heading his VP committee and Christie is his transition team? None of them are capable of doing the hard work to make good decisions. I doubt his campaign is even paying close attention to swing states.

[apnu]

15. Considering his only real challenger was the creepiest guy in the pack who had a solid ground game?

You are probably right. Cruz took the endeavor seriously, hired intelligent people (for the right wing), and had a serious and credible ground game in the states. The Cruz campaign understood the RNC rules and how to work the primary system.

None of that could have overcome what an incredible and creepy of an asshole Cruz is, but his campaign was serious. Trump, at times was flumoxed by Cruz. Trump doesn't understand the Republican primary at all, and he's hired whomever strokes his ego enough, who also don't seem to understand what a primary is or how it operates. Trump gets buy on pure gas and hate.

[smirkymonkey]

16. This!

[0rganism]

17. i don't know if it's a lack of brains or a lack of motivation

his ideas and responses remind me of a class clown who hasn't done his homework -- preposterous answers and accusation leveled at everyone around him. it's not that he's stupid, he just didn't care enough.

he also faces a serious structural challenge in terms of running as the final figurehead of a dying political party, degenerating to its most racist and ignorant elements. to do so successfully would require a lot of actual work. if there's one thing DJT has not exhibited, to my knowledge, ever, it is an inclination to perform actual work. why should he? he's a billionaire ferchrissakes, hire some damn help, mission accomplished. unfortunately for the Republicans, he is absolutely disinclined to put forth the kind of effort needed to run a campaign that would resuscitate the Republican party and lead to victory in a national election.

the Republican base has effectively illustrated Plato's critique of democracy by nominating the one person on a fairly broad slate of potential candidates who not only shows signs of lacking the acumen necessary to comprehend national policy, but also clearly lacks any desire to achieve or demonstrate such skill.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

23. There is definitely a lack of intellectual curiosity. Just think, if you were

running for Prez...you would immediately get a bunch of tutors -- Teach me everything there is to know about Syria, for instance. But, he never did that. How odd. Can someone be THAT egotistical that they could literally be casual about going into a foreign policy debate? Geez, I'd be shittin in my pants.

But, I think of someone who doesn't know what they don't know as the most odd. It was what I always thought about Palin. Any normal person would immediately think - OMG, hell no, I only know a small fraction of what I would need to know to be VP.

[David__77]

18. I think he's doing fairly effective things to position himself to win.

If he suddenly got "dignified" or was perceived to "change course," he'd definitely be putting himself in a position to lose, in my opinion.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

24. I see him telling his low-educated (I love the low-educated people)...now

listen up -- I am going to start acting differently - no worries - it's for me to win the whole thing. wink wink

[Doctor Jack]

19. I think he wants to win but...

...his severe narcissism is causing him to be erratic and not plan ahead. The man clearly has significant personality problems. I think he wants to win and that he believes everything he says. He believes that women, hispanics and blacks absolutely love him, that he is going to magically bring back jobs that left 40 years ago and that he has brilliant ideas to defeat Islamic extremeists. The problem, of course, is that none of that is true. He lives in his own fantasy world caused by years of living off of daddy's money and being able to buy whatever he wanted. He truly thinks that most people are fawning over him and that he is the healthiest and most brilliant man to ever run for president.

And you see what happens when reality seeps into his bubble, he gets violent and shuts down. He sees glimpes that most people think he is a clown and that the world isnt bowing down to him, his sick mind cant handle it. So he does what has always worked for him, he throws a tantrum. "Paul Ryan is being mean! DAD FIX IT! I WANT TO BE PRESIDENT! IT'S MINE! I WANT IT!".

Ultimately his narcissism will be his undoing. He believes everything he says, so there is no need to reach out to women and minorities. They already love him! And there is no need to organize, raise money, or surround himself with experienced people, he is the most popular and brilliant person to ever run. His "smart brain" is so far beyond his competition that he doesnt have to bother with any of that shit. He will just figure it all out the day before the election and win in a landslide. It's so easy because he says so.

So does trump want to win? Of course. Is he lost in a fantasy world where he has a thick head of hair and everyone in the country is lining up to make him emperor for life? Most certainly and that is his problem.

[Tsiyu]

20. The campaign trail is brutal

Bernie and Hillary are seasoned veterans of many campaigns.

Trump is a newbie, and I wonder if some of his brasher statements aren't the result of exhaustion causing less "piehole filtration."

I have often believed as you do for brief moments. Why would Trump sign up for the intense 24/7 responsibility when he has the freedom to do anything? The power trip may be alluring but it will come at a great cost to his personal liberty and possibly his legacy.

It will certainly be interesting to see how he handles himself as the campaign nears the finish line. I trust Bernie and Hillary to remain the same personality-wise. I wonder if Trump won't completely lose his shit at some point.

[Egnever]

21. That has been his plan from the start

One of his campaign managers came out and said it a month or so ago.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

25. Was it that? or just the shock and surprise along the way. Never believed they

could get so much support - so obviously never thought he would win.

[Egnever]

26. No outright said he did not want to win

Will look for a link to the story.

Found it.
http://www.xojane.com/issues/stephanie-cegielski-donald-trump-campaign-defector

[edhopper]

27. I don't think he wants the job of President

but he can't help himself from wanting to win.

[pnwmom]

29. He really wants the job of God but this is the closest he can run for. n/t

[pnwmom]

28. He has a major personality disorder that renders him unable to control himself.

And everyone around him is catering to it because otherwise they'll just be tossed overboard.