Republicans think Trump might quit — so they’re scrambling to find a replacement: ABC News

[DonViejo]

Source: RawStory/ABC News

Republican officials are so angry at Donald Trump and his imploding campaign that they’re considering replacing him at the top of the ticket just two weeks after nominating him.

The GOP nominee angered party officials by refusing to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. John McCain in their primary races, repeatedly insulting a Gold Star family, joking about receiving a Purple Heart and removing a noisy baby from a campaign rally — all in about four hours Tuesday afternoon.

Jon Karl, the chief White House correspondent for ABC News, reported Wednesday morning that Republican officials were scrambling to plan for the possibility that Trump might suddenly quit the presidential race.

“This is absolutely unprecedented,” Karl reported. “First of all, I am told RNC chairman Reince Priebus is furious, that he has had multiple discussions with Trump telling him he needs to drastically change course. But here’s the news, I am told senior officials at the party are actively exploring what would happen if Trump dropped out, how to replace him on the ballot.”

-snip-

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2016/08/republicans-think-trump-might-quit-so-theyre-scrambling-to-find-a-replacement-abc-news/

[unblock]

1. how would they convince the trump delegates to abandon him?

no gonna happen.

[electron_blue]

5. Are delegates procedurally relevant at this point?

[LoverOfLiberty]

10. In as much as they are representative of voters

and the GOP needs those voters in November.

[StraightRazor]

47. True, but I think they believe they've already lost the election and just want to try to...

keep the party from completely falling into the wrong hands - their voters.

[unblock]

14. my understanding as that the rnc committee would call a new convention.

i could be wrong, but i think the same delegates would do the actual voting

even if the republican party by-laws permit the rnc committee to overturn the results of the entire primary season and convention voting, as a practical matter they can't get away with that. it would destroy the party even worse than one failed candidate, no matter how horrendous.

[Glamrock]

50. I read

that it would be 3 delegates per state. New candidate must get majority of those 150 delegates.

[unblock]

55. no, they get the same number of votes as at the convention (see 9(b)):

https://cdn.gop.com/docs/2012_RULES_Adopted.pdf

RULE NO. 9
Filling Vacancies in Nominations

(a) The Republican National Committee is hereby authorized and empowered to fill any and all vacancies which may occur by reason of death, declination, or otherwise of the Republican candidate for President of the United States or the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States, as nominated by the national convention, or the Republican National Committee may reconvene the national convention for the purpose of filling any such vacancies.

(b) In voting under this rule, the Republican National Committee members representing any state shall be entitled to cast the same number of votes as said state was entitled to cast at the national convention.

(c) In the event that the members of the Republican National Committee from any state shall not be in agreement in the casting of votes hereunder, the votes of such state shall be divided equally, including fractional votes, among the members of the Republican National Committee present or voting by proxy.

(d) No candidate shall be chosen to fill any such vacancy except upon receiving a majority of the votes entitled to be cast in the election.

[Glamrock]

56. My bad

I know I saw a similar doc here at DU, but whatever, thanks for the correction.

[Cryptoad]

53. it destroys the GOP no matter how they do it!

[Fiendish Thingy]

77. Nope - the RNC central committee could select a new nominee

But only if Trump drops out. No new convention, no delegate vote.

[BlueStreak]

66. No. Trump would have to resign. And the way they can do that is

to make him an offer he can't refuse. A YUGE deal. Maybe they will offer him 10% of the Pentagon if he steps aside, or give him a section of western Virginia in which he can form a new state Trumpistan, totally under his own control.

I don't see the point of forcing him out at this late date. I doubt they could win with a replacement candidate so they might as well take their lumps. And at least this will leave the GOP brass in a position to blame the Teabaggers. This is starting to look like teabaggery's last stand.

[democrattotheend]

7. Delegates don't matter anymore

He has already been nominated. If he dropped out there are a bunch of RNC committeepeople who would choose a replacement. I don't think those people are the same as the delegates to the convention.

[bucolic_frolic]

21. Their rules

allow them to do it either way, by members of their
National Committee (about 180 or so of them, I
think), or by all the delegates at another convention. They won't redo
the convention, as to if they could extend that to voting by phone
or electronic ballot amongst themselves is anybody's guess.

This is moving so fast ... did they plan it this way all along? I've
sometimes posted on DU about a late summer switcheroo, Ryan
has just been too too smug all along

But it looks more like a rapid onset narcissism/dementia condition

[IronLionZion]

8. Just talking about it helps us

this is good. They should keep it up.

[drray23]

13. the delegates are no longer relevant.

The convention is over. The GOP has a rule called rule 9 allowing them to vote another candidate in without a convention should the nominee withdraw. They can not force Trump to go. However if he does they can nominate a new one.
I can imagine a scenario where the kocks, adelson, etc.. offer him a lot of money to withdraw. Trump would save face by claiming its for health reasons or other such nonsense.

[unblock]

30. i looked it up, rule 9 allows them to do it either way.

they can reconvene the convention and the delegates re-vote, or the rnc committee could do it themselves.

that said, the rule only applies when there's a vacancy. not clear that they can do it while trump is alive and kicking and hasn't withdrawn. maybe in he was medically deemed to be incapacitated.


but just saying horrible things and dropping a few points in the polls? no way.

[drray23]

44. yes they can not use it to get rid of trump

He first have to withdraw. I doubt they would want to reconvene the convention if this happens. They would probably go the commitee route to be able to control the process.

[unblock]

45. except that refusing to reconvene the convention pisses off a whole lot of delegates.

not reconvening the convention works best if trump withdraws at the last minute, so they can say there's not enough time for a convention, even by phone or internet.


again, not that trump is going anywhere.

[Ilsa]

2. Pribus, Gingrich, the kids, and a few other Trump faithfuls are going to

Meet with him about his distracted message, keeping his mouth zipped, etc. over the next few days. Like a family intervention. I hope Trump walks out on it and sends someone for a bucket of chicken.

[IronLionZion]

11. He'll eat crow with a fork and knife

[jpak]

3. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!111111

3-alarm Trumpster fire

[snooper2]

4. FYI- Ripstory is not a source

[truthisfreedom]

20. It clearly says ABC

Rawstory has been a very good source for Dems. Explain please.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/senior-gop-officials-exploring-options-trump-drops/story?id=41089609&cid=abcn_tco

[Miles Archer]

27. Raw Story has ABSOLUTELY been a valid source on DU...

...whether they link to ABC or not. There are thousands of links to RS all over DU and there is a reason for that.

[cbdo2007]

6. We need to hope this happens later....rather than sooner, so the new person won't

have a chance to pick up steam.

Maybe they'll start a new party which would probably split Trumps poll numbers in half, but at least it would be a huge knock against Trump and if he drops out I'm sure all those people will go to the new guy.

[Cracklin Charlie]

15. It's too late now.

They may have had a chance, if they had cut him loose before the convention.

There is just not enough time left to get a whole new campaign off the ground.

[truthisfreedom]

25. In a normal election year maybe

All of the normal expectations are out the window. The majority of non-trump supporting republicans would absolutely leap at the chance to vote for someone somewhat normal. They detest Hillary in general and unless she's got a resonant message (I'd suggest Choose Sanity), they won't cross over right now. I live part time in rural Minnesota. This is a blue state but the countryside is filled with republicans and I can hear it at the bar... A couple of beers and they're just wishing trump wasn't so nuts.

[Miles Archer]

33. Pence...

...was a concession, a "conciliatory gesture" to a party that Trump had been ripping to shreds. Trump leaves, they move Pence into his slot, they approach Kasich on their knees and there is the ticket.

Or, they put Kasich at the top and keep Pence as VP.

But if Ted Cruz is sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring, he's going to be waiting well past November.

In terms of procedure, I have no idea how the GOP could pull it off. My guess is that they would have to cite extreme circumstances and then re-write their own rules. I'm not an expert in this area so that is just a guess.

[Cracklin Charlie]

38. The calendar is the problem right now.

Less than 100 days is just not enough time.

After they spend three weeks discussing Trump's removal, they're down to 75 days...and that is if they toss him today.

Trump campaign has the Republican Party in a real pickle.

[Miles Archer]

54. That, and the fact that Pence lacks any charisma or crossover appeal

If Trump had beaten Cruz by a narrow margin and Cruz were the second-most loved man in the Republican party, 100 days or 75 days wouldn't matter as much.

Pence has zero "marquee value." That, and the fact that unless Trump simply walked away...which his ego would not let him do...his supporters would go nuclear.

The RNC isn't sweating the Presidential slot as much as they are the down ticket positions and potential SCOTUS nominees. If Trump goes down...probably more accurately "when" he goes down...the house of cards goes with him.

The GOP's only option...other than the scenarios above...is to "reason" with Trump. And in every instance I've seen, it just encourages him to double down. I can only imagine the look on Priebus' face when he watched the footage of Trump throwing the baby and mom out of his event. That's crossing into sacred ground. People can get away with all kinds of things. Demonizing a crying infant tends to leave a mark.

The response to the Purple Heart thing kind of shocked me. The Trump apologists were out in full force on Twitter, not really getting the parallels between Trump...with five deferments...saying how he always wanted one, and how much "easier" it is to just have someone from the Military hand him one...and Dick Cheney, also a deferment poster child, saying he didn't serve because he had "other priorities" (like filling out the paperwork for his deferments, as an example).

[Nay]

57. Every Republican military veteran should be INCENSED at the way Trump

has acted toward those who gave their lives, earned medals, and even just served their time. Trump shouldn't get even ONE vote from any veteran or service member.

[adigal]

75. And yet an ex-Navy seal was on CNN praising trump tonight

For being the one who will be tough on ISIS.

Idiots!!!!!

[angrychair]

60. "Pence who?"

The vast majority of people outside Indiana don't even know who he is and most in Indiana hate his guts.

"Kasich who?" Even better.

[Miles Archer]

63. Exactly.

After that, all they have left is Ryan, Romney or Jeb.

It will come down to the 7 stages of the death of the Republican party. They have been in the denial stage for a while now. If they think there is any way to save the down ticket races and prevent "LIBRUL" judges on the Supreme Court, they could make a desperate attempt to get Trump out and someone else in, but the problem is that they lack a "someone," because if they actually HAD a someone, Trump would have never survived the convention.

[adigal]

76. Kasich could win...don't underestimate him

He has always seemed more reasonable than the others, and after Trump, he would seem like a sweetheart to Reoubkcians and some Independents.

I said Trump would drop out a while ago. I'm still not sure, but it's a real possibility.

[Miles Archer]

79. What I am reading this morning...

...is at this point, Trump has to quit. They can't dump him. They can pay him off and concoct some kind of story that makes it sound like he didn't actually quit to spare his ego, but unless he leaves of his own free will. he's not going anywhere.

And yes...Kasich would be a concern, because he would not be "vetted" to the level that he has been "vetted" on DU...most voters don't dig that deep. He was the "sane" one, the "polite" one, at the debates, and would provide a sharp contrast to Trump, and could potentially be groomed to be "Presidential" between now and November.

I have no idea what's in their rule book regarding being obligated to offer it to Cruz if Trump bails out, but if they did that, there would be no incentive. Swapping out one loser for another would only cause them more embarrassment.

But it's still idle speculation. Trump would have to quit. If he didn't, they would have no other options.

[tanyev]

48. It's already later. Josh Marshall has a really good analysis at Talking Points Memo.

Let me start by saying I see no chance that Trump withdraws from the race, despite Republican wishful thinking to the contrary. Call it big game unicorn hunting. But unicorn studies is a perfectly respectable discipline. So I wanted to explore one aspect of this scenario. In the quite unlikely case of Trump leaving the race, who would replace him? My understanding is that in this all but unprecedented situation the Republican National Committee would convene and pick a replacement. Even if they wanted to canvas the views of Republicans nationwide there's simply no practical way and no time to do that.

So who wants to replace Trump? Cruz certainly, someone who is probably too conservative for a national electorate and wildly reviled as someone actually less likable than Trump. Pence? A right-wing non-entity who his own state's Republican party didn't want anymore. Ryan? Maybe but he's probably too smart to put himself through that. Jeb or Rubio, who voters mammothly rejected?

The real story is that it reopens all the structural divisions in the GOP itself, precisely what the primary process was unable to grapple with successfully. Only now it gets hashed out not with any input from voters but literally behind closed doors by literally a group of Republican insiders and elites. And all this with 90 days before election day? That should go amazingly well.

This doesn't even get into the logistical and in some cases legal obstacles to changing the name on the ballot once you get into September.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/it-doesn-t-get-easier

[Democat]

9. Joe the Plumber?

Is he available to replace Trump?

[bucolic_frolic]

26. Can he alone fix it?

Any good plumber can

[emulatorloo]

12. Wishful thinking on their part. Trump's attitude is optimistic and confident

I was struck by how optimistic he appears when I saw video clips of his appearances yesterday.

He thinks his strategy is brilliant, he beleives everything is going great.

Yes he is delusional, but this is not a man who is going to drop out.

[MrModerate]

18. Manic, in my mind. Brittle. Fragile. Protective Eyewear Recommended. n/t

[emulatorloo]

23. Yep

[ChairmanAgnostic]

81. Sleep deprived, immigrant depraved,

Putin approved, America abused.

[underpants]

29. I agree. He'll never quit

As reported on Morning Joe by some reporter (?) "he can almost smell victory".

[MrModerate]

16. Is this the Republicans' "Party loyalty isn't a suicide pact" moment? n/t

[muntrv]

17. Sorry GOP, you own Trump!

[uawchild]

19. If Trump drops out

that's not good news. He was going to drag the entire rethug ticket down with him.

[Nay]

58. That's not good news??? That's fuckin' FANTASTIC news. nt

[WI_DEM]

22. He can't be forced to quit and I doubt he will quit.

[EV_Ares]

28. You are 100% correct. He might if it was his choice but you tell me, we have seen his personality

and we know what he would do if they tried to force him to quit. You can imagine what he would say at his rallies & his supporters would be so revved up, they might even vote for Clinton to just put the screws to the RNC.

[FighttheFuture]

24. The R's might actually win here... Trump leaves at the last moment, the R's so glad to have

any regular Republican assclown to vote for go out in droves, knowing nothing about them. Never do they even question why their party attracted and allowed a thing like "the Donald" to breeze on through. Never do they question what the FUCK is wrong with themselves!!!

[Nitram]

32. It is way too lte for a replacement to get traction.

If Trump resigns, Clinton will win with a landslide.

[FighttheFuture]

39. Let's hope, but never underestimate the Goosestepping nature of the Republican Lemmings!!

They have a way of falling in line. Cruz could even make a comeback as some prescient hero for not endorsing Trump so publicly at the convention.

[Nitram]

42. They haven't been able to fall in line behind Trump or any other candidate.

The conservative electorate has fractured. Trump has a better chance of winning than any replacement and they know it.

[FighttheFuture]

69. Perhaps! Never underestimate their Hillary Hatred!! Hate has a way of cutting ones own nose off.

[HereSince1628]

74. I don't think it's too late, I think the problem is WHO?

There are celebrity names available, that don't need months of introduction, but none of them would appeal to Trump supporters, and thereby, honor the primary result.

[Nitram]

80. Anyone chosen at this late date would lack all credibility and legitimacy.

First of all, they didn't win primary. Secondly, they haven't even started campaigning. Thirdly, they will have to bear the slings and arrows of outraged Trump supporters.

[ailsagirl]

64. The pukes are remarkable in their ability to blame someone else

In so doing, they've sowed the seeds of their destruction

[Nitram]

31. The GOP has no way out of this.

Sit back and enjoy it while they flounder. Than vote in November!

[kimbutgar]

34. No they are stuck with him

The millions of brain washed zombie supporters will riot if the GOP drops cheeto.

Look at those people at his rallies and outside attacking anti Cheeto supporters they will lose it big time. And those crazies have guns.

[ailsagirl]

65. The thought of a huge group of angry armed Cheeto lovers

makes me quake

[stopbush]

35. The problem with Trump dropping out now

is that he would reserve the right to come back in sometime in October.

Even if the Rs picked a new candidate, Trump would be hanging around the edges, sucking all the air and media coverage out of the room.

[moonscape]

41. As long as he didn't then endorse Clinton - that would be the kiss of death! n/t

[CrispyQ]

36. Trump seems to me the kind of guy that if he hears they think he'll quit - he won't.

I hope they're stuck with him till the end. They deserve this steaming shitpile.

[Uben]

37. translation.....

...they are trying to come up with enough money to bribe him to quit. Probably what Trump wanted all along...punk the GOP and make em pay!

[FigTree]

40. I think he'll wind up emigrating to Russia. nt

[Nitram]

43. Even Trump is not that stupid.

[Cryptoad]

52. Maybe him and Snowden could share that Beachouse in Crimea

[FigTree]

67. If one looks a little closer:

There's a number of pros. Business model (so to speak) is pretty much the same. Taste for gold, crowns and tacky shit is pretty much the same. Better tax evasion possibilities in Russia I'm sure. Russia is in terrible need for an image (e.g. Depardieu). I'm not sure business prospect in the US are that great after all this spectacle. His voters are poor idiots and can't afford anything he sells. He pissed off most of the others. The list is likely longer.

[Happyhippychick]

46. I nominate Ben Ghazi!

[axiom3]

49. Too late now GOP

You broke it, you bought it. It's astonishing how they chose such a clueless, dumpster-fire of a candidate for the presidency. Trump's landslide defeat in the fall should teach them a good lesson, though I doubt they'll learn from their mistakes, and nominate someone just as terrible in 2020.

[SummerSnow]

51. News flash: Narcissist NEVER quit.They live off narcissistic supply, it's their lifeblood

[Boomer]

61. Conflict of neediness

On the one hand, as you point out, Trump gets his narcissistic supply of attention from running for president. But if polls keep dropping and Trump sees the looming disaster of being A Loser, then he'll protect his ego by dropping out "because the system is rigged. It's rigged. Believe me, I know. They would never let me win. And I would have won, I would have won BIG, bigger than anyone, but they rigged it."

That's his face-saving exit to keep from becoming a loser.

[FighttheFuture]

70. Good point. NS does not have to be positive, it just needs to be there.

[WhoWoodaKnew]

59. WE DON'T WANT TRUMP TO QUIT. We need for the talk radio candidate

to go all the way.

[Hulk]

62. a GREAT strategy! Beware.

This makes good sense. I'm not one to waste my energy worrying about the inevitable earthquake or meteor landing on my roof, but this could make great sense.

Should this worthless orange fleabag dump the race and return to his next catastrophic adventure to fleece his fan club of billions, it would leave the repuKKKes to select some "normal repuKKKe douchebag" to fill the ticket. I wonder what is the legal cut off for putting another name on the ballot, or elevating pence to the top of the ticket and having him select a vp at a later date?

This may not be so far fetched in light of drumpf's totally wacko behavior of late.

[Cognitive_Resonance]

68. I think they will have to try forcing him out if the meltdown continues much longer

It's not far-fetched, and it doesn't mean the goal would be to actually field a candidate capable of winning. Just stop further brand destruction, and try to limit the risk of losing the Senate and even the House. It may not be pretty, but there are certainly ways to drive him out. They were warned before the convention not to let this happen, but they decided to roll the dice.

It's definitely a lose-lose situation for the GOP, but they just can't afford to keep a raving lunatic as their standard bearer for the next three months. At this point they can only pick how they want to go down.

[vkkv]

71. Okay.. THAT - I would call "rigged".... nt

[Skittles]

72. BITE IT, REPUKES

YOU MADE HIM, YOU *OWN* HIM

[roamer65]

73. They replace him and the Rethug party is gone.

These Trumpistas will burn it to the ground in retaliation.

[treestar]

78. Wishful thinking of them to think this might happen

Or that Trump is going to listen to them. He already thinks his way is best.