Folks, I think we need to talk about a "Donald Departure."

[sofa king]

There are facets of the President's statements today on which I do not even want to speculate, yet. But they are very not good.

What I do want to point out is that if Donald Trump leaves the race, there are a lot of very... unprepared... people who are not of our political stripe who are going to be very upset. Some of the very least capable Americans are Donald Trump's most ardent supporters.

We are all going to have friends and family members who "won't believe" what's happening, and I choose those words very carefully, because it is belief, not thought, which guides those poor people.

It's going to be up to all of us, collectively and individually, to smooth things over, to be their friends, to tell them it's not the end of the world... to keep it from becoming the end of the world.

Suggestions are welcome at his point.

[MADem]

1. I don't want the Con-ald to leave the race.

I want Republicans to gradually, slowly, drip-drip-drip, start repudiating him.

Not too quickly, but steadily. I want him to STAY IN, because he WILL LOSE.

He is the worst candidate we've seen in a long time. Perhaps EVER.

[canetoad]

7. Agree utterly with your comment

but thinking towards the day He, Trump loses, how do you think his supporters are going to behave after simmering with outrage for months?

[MADem]

12. I don't think he has all that many supporters.

He has fans who like a fight, but I don't think most people see him as a good choice for POTUS.

A PHISH concert looks like a sea of acolytes, but really, they're a group for a rather specialized taste.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

8. W R O N G .

Sorry, but the basis of your opinion is built on sand as the tide is coming in.

Nothing, never ever, at no time, not once, not until hell freezes over, NEVER, has Teh Donald ever waited for things to perculate, evolve, become a fact. He never waits, rather, he (with little information and less logic) predicts, anticipates, and acts to decide in the most powerful way he can, before anyone else can act.

He will resign, in the most explosive fashion possible, quite possibly with his current wife headlining in a threesome with his next wife.

[MADem]

11. We shall see. I will bookmark your interesting prediction. nt

[sofa king]

18. I tend to agree.

There is an opportunity to offer him "a deal." Quit, and say whatever you want, and the national security interest is met and you don't get the rest of your life in pound-me-in-the-ass prison. I think he's gonna take that deal, probably on a Friday around 4pm.

[sofa king]

25. And another puzzle piece falls on the table....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/carter-page-trump-russia_us_57a0f329e4b0693164c2fb41

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141540180

[Agnosticsherbet]

2. there is nothing we can do to ease this, other than follow these simple directions.

[msanthrope]

23. I raise you Bette Davis:

[NightWatcher]

3. When he drops out (due to "exhaustion") are the pukes stuck with Pence?

I'm unfamiliar with the replacement protocol that is available to the pukes.

If it's down to Casper the Friendly White Guy, I mean Pence, I predict a nonexistent turnout and a massive sweep of every other contest.

If they're able to have a White Knight ride in to save them, a few names might get voters out but nothing like the mass of idiots that Trump has inspired.

[MADem]

13. I think the RNC has to meet and pick a new one--I could be mistaken, though... nt

[sofa king]

17. Just so

It's covered under Rule No. 9 of the Republican Rules (made to be broken, right?).

https://s3.amazonaws.com/prod-static-ngop-pbl/docs/Rules_of_the_Republican+Party_FINAL_S14090314.pdf

The RNC meets and they can decide to have a do-over convention, but since that is exactly what they do not want (the second-to-last thing they want is Ted Cruz), the 150+ members will meet and decide among themselves.

But that's one of the things that worries me. Republican Primary voters, who finally got the awful candidate they wanted, will be robbed, and they'll be righteously pissed off.

How does one approach that? "Yes, you did get the candidate you wanted, but he was a Russian patsy, because your decision-making skills are terrible." Pretty sure the truth isn't going to be the key to winning over broken hearts and lost minds.

[Miles Archer]

29. Today, Judge Curiel handed Trump his ass over the Trump U charges

I just posted it in a separate thread in GD, but here is the link to the story:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-university-lawsuit_us_57a12de7e4b0693164c3342e?section=&

The "money shot" is:

U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel said in a written ruling that there was a “genuine issue of material fact” as to whether Trump knowingly participated in a scheme to defraud the students.

So when you add that to everything on the list, including the Purple Heart debacle, maybe Pence was a red herring...maybe he was never intended as the VP choice at all but the Presidential pick, knowing Trump would implode before November and they'd just move him up one notch and then find a new VP.

I don't know. I don't believe for a second that if Trump doesn't make it to November that the RNC will crawl back to Cruz and beg him to run.

[Kingofalldems]

4. Like someone posted here---he should stay until 10/1 at least.

[niyad]

9. he could drop out, or off, on 7 november, around 11 pm

[unblock]

5. no, really, we don't. it's not gonna happen.

let's be realistic. some past elections have been absolute blowouts and obviously so months in advance.

no candidate has ever withdrawn after accepting the nomination.

and trump still has a far better chance to win than some of these, e.g., mondale in 1984 or mcgovern in 1972.

aside from that, he has nothing to gain by leaving (a party regular might do it, but that's not trump) and the most poorly equipped ego for leaving.

he's not going to withdraw.

death or incapacitation is the only way republicans are getting a different nominee.

[LuvLoogie]

6. Tell them the only way to send the GOP a message would be

to write him in on the ballot. It's their duty.

[Jarqui]

10. His ego won't let him withdraw any time soon

If the polls get pathetically hopeless, he might have to feign bone spurs in his heels and get a deferment, with his counterfeit purple heart, to 2020.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

14. I don't see him withdrawing voluntarily.

Even if the GOP bigwigs rescind their endorsements and the RNC PTBs sit him down for a "come to Jesus" talk (not that Trump has any more respect for Jesus than for anyone else), he's not going to quit on his own; his narcissism is so extreme that he can't accept the possibility of losing. And the RNC doesn't have any other way to get rid of him, at least not a legal one. Even if he is somehow removed by hook or by crook, the GOP is stuck with coming up with another candidate at the last minute - and it might not be Pence, who carries the taint of Trump. They're screwed no matter what. Will Trump's supporters riot if he is un-candidated? Who knows? Some might.

[cbdo2007]

28. You say "he can't accept the possibility of losing" which exactly...

Why he will drop out on his own terms. If he actually did lose he would probably go into a deep depression or something, but if he drops out before the election he can save face and say they couldn't handle him because he was too good, etc. For the rest of his life he will be able to say "I could have won the election...if they had let me." He will remain a hero to all the idiota he's tricked into voting for him and it gives him ongoing purpose to continue with his snake oil scams.

If he actually loses...he's forever a loser and will eventually fade away like Palin has for the most part. Remember how a couple of months after the 2008 election, Palin actually came out and said if she had run on her own she could have beat Obama??? Right after she lost to him?? But if trump never loses, he can always say it with some bastion of truth.

His narcissism is exactly why he will for sure drop out. Losing would probably kill him.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

15. He LOVES the attention.

His ghost writer for The Art of the Deal described his intense need for attention, so he won't leave voluntarily.

[SticksnStones]

16. The constitution, if I understand correctly...

gives the power to the states for setting Election Day.

More state governors and legislatures are republican.

Can the republicans change Election Day so they can sub in a new candidate and give him/her time to campaign?

I sure as hell hope not ~

[tritsofme]

21. States do not control the dates for federal general elections, it is set by Congress

[oberliner]

19. Not happening

He is not going anywhere.

[Monk06]

20. Do not take your hands off the handle bars until after you cross the finish line

[sofa king]

33. Yes, and to your point....

... I think escorting Trump out of this race has the potential to make it much more difficult.

It gives the RNC the chance to bypass the two worst candidates (Trump and Cruz) and maybe even talk their one decent hope, Paul Ryan, into it, and no matter how bad he is, or whomever it is, that person will look better compared to this buffoon. It has already forced them to focus on downticket races, to our potential loss. It gives them a chance to pull it together when we were running away with it.

And it lets them off the hook for picking a shill for the Russians, a favor they would never have extended to us.

Nevertheless, if it's the national security nightmare that I am seeing emerge, it is critically important that it must happen, and we will have to spot them a do-over at our expense. The price of being the only adults in the room, unfortunately.

[book_worm]

22. He's not going anywhere.

[Warren DeMontague]

24. They're stuck with him.

And the people you mention are just as likely to lose their shit if he loses the election, which I think- and strenuously hope- he will.

[True Dough]

26. If he withdraws, he's a LOSER!

If he stays in the race, he's a LOSER!

Either way, he's going to have to swallow awfully hard.

[liberal N proud]

27. He doesn't like being a loser

He will stay in telling everyone that it is rigged then he will not be a loser in his eyes. He will always say it was stolen.

It might be a landslide but he will always saw it was stolen

[MohRokTah]

30. Trump. Is. NEVER. Leaving. This. Race.

Eight years from now the cockwomble will STILL have lawsuits going.

[anamandujano]

31. Repukes home alone

[img][/img]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[WiffenPoof]

32. Too Funny. Nt

[Paula Sims]

34. I'm actually worried the other way

I take NOTHING for granted -- I have lost too many times on "sure things".

I worry what will happen if he catches his tail. . .

[ecstatic]

35. I'm not aware of anyone in my life who is voting for Donald.

Undercover supporters will have to sort through those emotions alone.

[AgadorSparticus]

36. Quit dreaming. Narcissists don't leave a situation like this. They LOVE it.

He won't know what to do with himself when this is all over. He is too addicted to his voice and the spotlight.

[sofa king]

37. Eight hours with nary a Tweet.

(Except for an automatic retweet of Mike Pence.)

Trump spent most of yesterday morning trying to tie Democratic candidates to the Russians.

The walls are closing in, the golden bridge stands behind him, and Friday 4pm approaches....

[mountain grammy]

38. So, I think they might have done that

if Obama hadn't told them they should. Now, they can't because Obama..

[Xolodno]

39. Not gonna happen.

1. If Trump really does believe his bullshit, he won't quit.

2. If Trump is trying to burn down the GOP, he won't quit.

3. Obama already called on the GOP to get rid him, so now they have to keep him.

4. Who will they get to replace him? Whoever it is, will be a sacrifice at the alter.

If anything, they now want to keep him in it. For years the radical base has stated if they had a candidate like them they could win. They need to show them no he can't and have him lose badly. So badly, they don't have to pander to the radical base anymore and the base is just happy when they are graced with a visit by a politician.