I think we are all being duped.

[Jakes Progress]

It's not as tin-foil hat as all that.

I don't think trump will be the nominee. I don't think he ever planned to be. I don't think that the republicans planned on making him the candidate. Notice how all the republicans are not saying they support trump, but that they will support the candidate. That keeps them from having to answer for trump's craziness later.

Some convention trick or sudden illness will keep trump out, and has been planned all along. They knew that cruz or rubio would lose to Hillary, but that their real choice wouldn't win the primary. I think it will be ryan.

Unvetted by the press and a new shiny toy for the public.

I fear we've been had. I fear three 30-year-old scalias on the court.

Please convince me I'm wrong.

[NCTraveler]

1. He looks like a Republican to me.

All of their worst traits wrapped up in one sick asshole.

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. Trojan Horse. Bait and Switch.

I've been saying that for months, only to be dissed here.

Time will tell if I am right.

[Native]

3. Have you seen this Gawker piece?

http://gawker.com/how-is-donald-trump-going-to-quit-1782312998

[PJMcK]

12. Great article

Thanks, Native. I'll share that one.

[Onlooker]

63. This video is really why Trump is running ...

Obama was there and also made fun of Trump, but listen to this and imagine how humiliated a narcissistic like Trump must have felt. The video is from 2011, so I have no doubt that Trump is running for President for real. He wants revenge.

[Native]

64. Wow. That was almost painful to watch.

[Sheepshank]

68. Just goes to show

Trump was the same then as he is now. Any short term campaign induced personality change will be as fleeting as his smiles during that roast.

[Native]

73. I didn't see a single smile during the roast, and I had my glasses on! If he'd had a gun then....

or if looks could kill!

[riversedge]

75. I do not think Trump smiled at all while Seth talked. poor angle but he sat mighty still.

[Motley13]

81. dim don had the same sour puss at the

correspondents dinner as Obama was getting under his skin. Wonder why he goes if its no fun for him, no money to be made or people to screw.



We need a smilie with dim don hair

[SkeleTim1968]

4. My issue with that theory is how do you get Trump supporters to go along and not cause

a huge division in the party instead?

[TheCowsCameHome]

6. Cut him a deal that he can't refuse.

The sheep will graze elsewhere.

[SkeleTim1968]

11. The "sheep" will have a fit and not vote or vote for third party.

I don't see how that would help the GOP. That's a pretty big herd of sheep.

[TheCowsCameHome]

15. Who cares about the GOP?

Certainly not me.

[demwing]

16. I care about the GOP

they control the House and the Senate, are the only significant opposition to the Dems taking the White House and filling the Supreme Court vacancies, and they are ape shit insane.

The GOP are high on the list of the top threats faced by our country, why would you not care about them?

[TheCowsCameHome]

18. The HRC campaign had better be ready for the switcheroo

I care about that - and plenty.

[BobbyDrake]

37. "why would you not care about them?" Privilege. nt

[Andy823]

48. Exactly.

Just like the diehard Sanders supporters who can't understand that Bernie lost. The Trump supporters are a larger number, and may be even crazier than the Sanders supporters who can't come to grips with reality.

I have already read about several groups who are going to armed at the GOP convention. Some have said they will be there to take out the protesters, others say they will be there to "defend" the Trump supporters, and on radical religious group wants to bring on Armageddon.

Trump may back out, but not till after he gets the nomination. I do agree this has all be a scam by him, but he at least want's the world to know he won the GOP nomination. After that he will find a way to drop out, because he wants to be a winner, and he will lose the GE, and I think he knows that.

[Jakes Progress]

20. They are sheep.

Show them a picture of Hillary with a black man and a picture of ryan with a soldier. They will cave in a second.

Just how much thought did they use in picking trump in the first place. They have the memory of a gnat.

[Andy823]

50. Don't think so

I know a lot of Bernie's diehard supporters, at least they "claim" to be supporters, want another candidate because they think some one like Ryan can beat Hillary, and for them the whole thing is about not letting Hillary get elected. I think a lot of those supporters are not really who they claim to be.

Trumps supporters are nuts, and that makes them dangerous.

[SkeleTim1968]

70. This ^^

[okasha]

60. You don't. You can't.

The "sheep" will stampede straight for the Libertarian candidate. They have a huge emotional investment in Trump's candidacy, and if he's "cheated " or "forced out" of the nomination, all hell will break loose. Violent hell.

[arcane1]

5. I never believed he actually wanted to be president.

I haven't been exactly sure WTF he's actually up to, but 4 years in the White House isn't it!

[Jakes Progress]

21. Agree. Where in any part of his history

is there any evidence he would do something that would cost him money?

[Hortensis]

7. No. This has been horribly damaging to the

Republican Party.

No matter what happens, they're very likely to lose many seats. That includes Trump just walking and inviting people to visit him next at his on-line store.

They could never trust Trump to keep his word.

They WOULD never trust Trump to keep his word. A certain profound lack of honor among thieves.

Probably 100 other things.

[Jakes Progress]

23. People who vote republican

won't care about any of it if they think they can vote for someone besides Hillary. All they care about a candidate is that he is white, a male, and lies easily.

This comes off as glib, but I still think it is true.

[Hortensis]

36. No, I agree with it all. However, every

election the GOP loses people (and so do we, of course, some of our conservatives still with us from the old days); plus, with elections won by such slim margins, turnout is critical. Yes, most Republicans, no mater how sensible in other areas of their lives, have been trained to think anything their side is still better than Democrats, but some will stay home or just pass on the top of the ticket.

In any case, no matter how the cleanup goes, the Republican train wreck has already occurred, and it wasn't on purpose. The Koch alliance had great hopes of putting their choice in the White House this time and finally taking definitive control of SCOTUS. There may still be opportunity to be snatched from chaos (and let's include a President Trump in that), but the takeover is far, far less likely than before.

[Thinkingabout]

8. Who knows what the GOP will do, there is a movement to deny Trump the nomination

But not sure if that will work. I am still staying with Hillary, we have work to do and can not sit back and depend on the GOP staying with Trump so we have to be ready for someone else to be running.

[C_U_L8R]

9. Ryan isn't much of a leader

His performance as House Speaker is pretty lackluster.
I don't think he has the passion or the smarts to
make a run for office. Then again, dumber things
happen every day in the GOP.

[Jakes Progress]

24. Neither is trump. Or cruz. Or rubio. or …...

[pnwmom]

10. If they try that I bet he'll run 3rd party and split off enough votes to

guarantee their loss.

[Jakes Progress]

25. We can only hope.

He won't if his is promised money or IRS help.

[WhiteTara]

28. It's really too late for that. Many deadlines

have passed and some of the big states are already closed.

[pnwmom]

30. He would only have to run in enough states to throw a wrench into the works.

Ralph Nader did in 2000.

[Lord Magus]

31. Trump is vindictive. It's one of his most clear defining traits.

He'd still file in any states he could just for revenge against the RNC for snubbing him. Even if he couldn't actually win he could still hurt whoever was parachuted in to replace him.

[PJMcK]

54. He doesn't have the money or the organization

Among his many personal qualities, Donald Trump is a skinflint. He's well-known for cutting corners, cheating business associates and using bankruptcy to repeatedly bail from his obligations. He lent his campaign over $50 million and said he would forgive it; we don't know yet if he's filed the necessary FEC documents which will be telling. I'm betting he hasn't and he'll have some lame reason because he doesn't want to lose that money if at all possible. Nothing in his history suggests that he would voluntarily give it up.

So, I can't imagine that he's actually going to liquidate one of his buildings to self-finance his campaign.

What he will do, if he's denied the nomination, is whine and bitch and moan. Another of Mr. Trump's stellar personality characteristics is how he always views himself as the injured party when his business ventures fail. And the number of his failures is legion, generally where he is the only one to financially benefit. His cheating selfishness has garnered him financial success but at the price of a deeply littered trail.

Which is the second reason Mr. Trump won't launch a third-party campaign, that is, he doesn't have an organization in place. To run a national campaign requires tremendous preparatory work. Presently, he has the assistance of the Republican National Committee but they are horrified by the fact that Mr. Trump has raised comparatively little money for his campaign and is relying so heavily on their infrastructure.

Donald Trump is a terrible manager and chaos surrounds him. You can't run for president with that organizational deficit.

[KT2000]

13. I too have thought of this but

then I thought about the reactionary response from his followers - with guns. They will have chaos and the repub party would officially bury itself by subverting "the will of the people."

[griffi94]

14. You're attributing them superpowers

The GOP has fractured into basic tribalism.
The usual T-Bagger rank & file that make up so much of
the GOP may hate Hillary but they hate the GOP leadership just as much.

They're not rational and they won't act or vote rationally.

Trump is their man. He hates the same people they do. He's promising
to smite their enemies for them.
Should Trump be denied the nomination they'll bolt the party in droves.

These same nutters turned on the House Freedom Caucus for not repealing
the ACA even tho they never had the votes and President Obama would never
have signed any law undoing it.

Their hate and anger have unhinged them.

We're watching the death spiral of social conservatism.

The GOP was happy to use the hate and anger when it shored up their
chances in elections. Now however it's costing the elections.

I expect the GOP to thrash around another couple of election cycles but I
also expect to that we're about to start seeing something more reasonable at least on the surface.

I expect it will be sped up if Roger Ailes is forced to leave FNC.

[Jakes Progress]

26. They have no super powers.

But they are not the ones setting this in motion. And I didn't say the party would kick trump out. He'll find a way to quit and throw his support to whoever he needs to. He has no moral compass. If he thinks the next man in the white house will get the IRS to leave him alone, all this would be worth it to him.

As for his revolting supporters revolting - they will just follow his bellowing.

[Lord Magus]

32. Why would he do that?

Trump has no moral compass, certainly. But he has a massive ego. He's not going to step aside in favor of somebody else. And why would he care about the IRS? He's lying about being under an IRS audit, that's just pandering to his frothing at the mouth supporters who see the IRS as a bogeyman.

[cutroot]

17. It doesn't matter. All of their choices are bad.

trump exposes their Id. They aren't happy about the display, but they will support anyone with an R by their name.

[politicaljunkie41910]

19. I think you're wrong, but I'm keeping hope alive that Trump won't go all the way over

and off the Deep End until until after the GOP convention is over. There is an anti-Trump group that thinks they have enough votes to get past the first round of voting. But I want them to nominate this stupid moron and make him their actual candidate and not just the presumptive nominee before he goes ALL IN STUPID and they have no choice but to abandon him, but by then it would be too late to replace him without his base going all crazy back at them.

[brooklynite]

22. Think about HOW the Republicans will change the nomination process...

Think about HOW the Republican leadership will keep the 40% who support Trump from rioting...

[Jakes Progress]

27. I see trump as complicit.

I can even see him get the nomination and then find a way to quit. This is not a man who will give 4 years to something other than himself. He has no political center - not moral compass in any direction.

Trump will stop the riots - then collect in government contracts and IRS forgiveness.

[Todays_Illusion]

29. I agree and let's have some Republican Convention candidate /VP speculation and I

think the Republicans will offer their dream team, Paul Ryan and Carly Fiorina.

[Lord Magus]

33. Dear God this conspiracy theory is almost as tiresome as the indictment fairy was. -nt-

[randome]

51. It's victimization taken to an absurd degree. We are all pawns of shadowy forces!

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Treat your body like a machine. Your mind like a castle.[/center][/font][hr]

[deathrind]

34. I wish I could make a...

Convincing argument to convince you but it is the same thoughts I have had and posted before.

Just speculating here but I think Trump is as surprised as everyone else that he has made it this far. I think in the beginning he thought he would toss his hat in the ring and have some fun at the expense of the Republican Party.

But he now appears to be pushing the edge of the envelope farther and farther over the edge the closer he gets to officially getting the nomination. His rant the other day was over the top. Perhaps he is doing this to be pushed out of the race in a way that saves face but instead (to the surprise and chagrin of everyone) he continues to gain momentum. However he is a text book narcissist so he could be deadly serious about this and loving all the free publicity.

Either way his campaign is going to be studied in political science courses for years to come.

[JaneyVee]

35. The election is 4 months away. Trump is their nominee.

[Cosmocat]

38. 30,000,000 people

voted in the primary ...

I know people want to think this kind of stuff, but end of the day, unless 30,000,000 people were all in on this great scheme and voted based on the desires of those behind this grand conspiracy, simple reality works against this theory.

[Jakes Progress]

40. They were the most duped.

the one-percent has been using those 30 million idiots for years.

Like I said. I would love to be convinced this is not the case, but the main reason I fear such a nut-case conspiracy is that there is nothing in trumps lifetime that would indicate him spending so much as two weeks being president. Where's the money for him? Where is there any indication that he would want to be tied up and tied down like that?

i will be very happy to be proven a tin-foil hatter.

[Orsino]

39. Trump dupes anyone willing to be duped.

But no, his candidacy and what still looks like his forthcoming retirement weren't planned by the GOP, or they might have come up with some talking points to explain it that don't sound so stupid.

[Jakes Progress]

41. I don't think the gop is doing this.

They are just as duped.

Nope I'm more nutty than that. On my dark nights I see American oligarchs doing this kind of shit. Or I could see trump just looking for an out from his IRS troubles.

Mostly I just don't see trump actually doing the work and being tied to the white house. It's not him. Nothing in his history would support the idea of trump even pretending to do the job.

[Orsino]

79. I don't think they're really duped, either.

They were steamrollered. They thought they'd give us a slate of bland robots, and from out of nowhere came a candidate with a detectable personality. I can understand why their same old professional grifters were wiped out by a born grifter who grifts on a scale the rest can barely imagine.

Oh, they may feign surprise, but all we're seeing looks just like envy. We were supposed to buy their brand-name bullshit, but we went instead for the smellier, greasier heap of someone else's dung.

[BainsBane]

42. You'll find out soon enough

The Convention is coming up.

[democrattotheend]

43. I never thought I would look forward to a Republican National Convention

But I am looking forward to this one. It should be interesting.

Any idea how cord cutters can watch it?

[BainsBane]

44. Good question

I'm one too. I expect CSPAN or someone will stream online.

[wiggs]

45. There's only ONE thing Trump cares about: He needs to be a Winner. He will

do what he can to get over on anyone and everyone, and no doubt has several pathways figured out to achieve it. He will not put himself in position to be a loser, wasting a year of his time and money just to get crushed, rejected, fired.

No need for a vast RW conspiracy...he holds the cards here. His choice. I agree he won't make it to November...and now that there's no HRC indictment, I bet the behind the scenes activities are moving into place quickly now.

He'll quit. He'll either get paid off...or...he'll sue the RNC for lack of support, undermining his brand, compensation for time and money, etc. He will profit from this adventure, one way or another. He won't allow a general election loss and he won't chance the convention delegates ousting him.

I agree with OP. Dems need to be ready.

[Lord Magus]

59. Dems literally should not waste a second on preparation for this conspiracy theory nonsense.

Trump won't allow anybody to be replace him, he's too egotistical for that. And he'll say his inevitable loss in November doesn't count by claiming that he really won if not for the "massive voter fraud" that exists in every Republican's mind even though it doesn't exist in reality.

[Jakes Progress]

62. The lord has spoken.

Don't think. Don't prepare. Don't conjecture.

Just listen to the lord.

[sufrommich]

46. Trump is going to be their nominee. His actions don't

indicate that he has any plans on dropping out or being led out.

[MoonRiver]

47. Why would they plan such an elaborate, and frankly, risky hoax?

Wouldn't it have been easier to just run Ryan in the first place? I'm sure he could have been convinced. Now, if what you suggest comes to pass, they will have a butt load of furious Rump supporters to deal with.

[randome]

49. There is no plan. Why do some insist that the GOP is an organized force? It isn't.

Good God, are some of us suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome from the Reagan years?

Their weakness is real. Now is the time to put even more pressure on them, not engage in hypotheticals about how they are secretly planning to outmaneuver us.

It's bullshit. The GOP is falling the fuck apart. Accept that reality!
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Treat your body like a machine. Your mind like a castle.[/center][/font][hr]

[Scurrilous]

52. ...

[floppyboo]

53. Agree. They already ran the third party

With Ryan leading the charge. Unless they can eat their host, the falling apart is almost complete.
Looking forward to some popcorn nights starting 9 nights from now.

[randome]

56. It's been 8 years of this crap, too! 16 counting Bush, Jr.

After Bush, Jr., who did they nominate? McCain and Palin! {Ow. My head hurts.}

And after that? Clueless Romney! {Ow. I think I've hurt myself.}

And now the pattern goes forward with...Donald Fucking Trump! {Really, I'm getting a bad headache now.}

All this against the backdrop of insulting Hispanics, Blacks and women voters. We need to recognize this for what it is: a historical unraveling.

Onward, soldiers! NO FUCKING PRISONERS!
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Treat your body like a machine. Your mind like a castle.[/center][/font][hr]

[floppyboo]

55. Ryan WAS vetted.

And was attacked beautifully by Biden, showing him to be the petulant child that he was/is.

[Squinch]

57. If it were not for how rageful Trump was when Obama took him down at the Correspondent's Dinner,

I would agree with you. But I think this whole candidacy comes from that moment. He needs to be able to say to himself that he is as good as Obama.

He may feel like he has caught the tiger by the tail, but he is unable to let go of that tail now because that would force him to admit to himself that Obama is able to do things that he is not able to do.

[ancianita]

58. Don't forget. He DID say he likes being unpredictable.

[Recursion]

61. I'll go further: Donald Trump and Bill Clinton are friends

And I really could believe this entire campaign is a plant and a massive troll on Trump's part, and he's going to find the most destructive way possible to quit.

[pnwmom]

65. No. Trump is a pathologic narcissist, running for his own ego -- not for Clinton's. n/t

[CobaltBlue]

66. Donald Trump will be the 2016 Republican nominee for president of the United States…

Of the 50 states, plus District of Columbia, 37 were carried by Donald Trump with the 2016 Republican presidential primaries. (This includes Trump’s home state New York.)

That was not a remotely close race.

Ted Cruz carried 11 states (including his home state Texas).

John Kasich carried his home state Ohio.

Marco Rubio—who failed to carry his home state Florida (won, expectedly, right out from under him by Trump)—carried Minnesota and District of Columbia.

The nomination will go officially to Trump because the Republicans are in no position to screw with their primaries voters. Refusal to officially nominate Trump—and sucker-punch him, and the primaries voters, by essentially appointing someone else—will blow up the party even worse than where it appears to be.

Donald Trump is the type of a disaster, for the Republicans, who can deliver a 400-vote victory in the Electoral College to Hillary Clinton. Screwing over the party, at the Republican National Convention, can deliver a 500-vote victory in the Electoral College to Hillary Clinton.

I think the Republicans have written off Donald Trump along with the fact they wanted—after two terms of Democratic president Barack Obama—to flip the presidency from the 2012 Democratic to the 2016 Republican column. Now, the Republicans want to get past Donald Trump…and they want to save at least one of the two houses of Congress.

[Jitter65]

67. I have been thinking this all along. That is why we need to paint every GOPer with the same

paint brush right now. Elizabeth started the ball rolling as did Nancy Pelosi. They ALL need to be painted as Trump-in-other clothing.

People need to be reminded of what the GOP has done to bring the country down...not Trump. He hasn't been in office these past 7 years to thwart the President on every turn. He hasn't obstructed jobs programs or cut money from education or inflamed the movement to eliminate healthcare for millions. It should be all about what the GOP represents for the past century. Their evil is not about one man...it's about ALL of them.

[wiggs]

69. Yes. Good post and easy case to make for the dems. Frustrating they don't

really engage strongly in creating an overall general narrative.

I can see why Clinton herself might want to appeal to a wide range of voters and not be quite as global in condemning gop policies and tactics...but dem leaders need to coordinate on a strong message based on history, facts.

[Warren DeMontague]

71. They're stuck with him, now.

[Vinca]

72. I don't think he meant to be the nominee.

I'm still wondering if they filmed all this for a reality show. Now he's stuck, though. His ego won't allow him to withdraw. It's frightening so many Americans are dumb enough to vote for him.

[Native]

74. I think you've hit on something here. No to the reality show, but yes to a docu on his campaign...

AND A BOOK! I honestly think he's going to wait until he's clinched the nomination before he drops out (otherwise he can't bow out as a WINNER). By waiting until after he's nominated, there's no denying he's A WINNER, his brand is elevated, and he can work it however he wants - he can tell everyone he played us all (the art of the deal, baby) and we never saw it coming, or he can use some trite, tried & true excuse for dropping out and exit in a more seemly manner. Just thinking about all of this make me feel dirty.

[stopbush]

76. Why the assumption that it's a cakewalk to the WH for the Rs

if Trump bows out?

No other R is going to catch Hillary in the polls. For every R who now finds they can support Pence-Ryan-Newt-Mitt as the replacement candidate they lose a rank-n-file R who voted for Trump or supports him, as their voice will have been dissed by the Party.

Jesus, we Ds are so used to believing that Rove and the rest of the R intelligencia are super humans who need only fart to get their man elected. The drubbings suffered by McCain and Romney seem not to have happened. We were told the races were razor close in 08 and 12 - they weren't.

Some in our party are nervous Nellies who are hellbent on worrying themselves to death. Rather than seizing this once-in-a-lifetime moment, they'll but into the media's false equivalencies and find a way to lose an election that should be a landslide.

[RBInMaine]

77. You are buying into fantasy and conspiracy theory delusion. Trump has the votes. They don't want

all out civil war.

[CajunBlazer]

78. It is evidentloy tin foil hat time

They will take a huge loss before utterly destroy their party. The establishment, fiscally conservative Republicans plan to use Trumps landslid loss to teach their revolting, socially conservative a lesson they won't soon forget. I'll bet they are already planning and amassing money for 2020.

[Spazito]

80. LOL

Trump isn't quitting and the repubs aren't going to oust him, they are in a no win situation and I LOVE it!