Trump – Confidence Man Done In By His Own Con

Donald Trump wants us to play a game. He pretends wanting to be president. We go along with the ruse.

After today’s string of primary victories in Delaware, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maryland and Pennsylvania, the sheeple are playing their part to a tee.

How do I know Trump is not serious about occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? I listen to his words.

On October 6, 2015, Trump said this on Meet The Press when asked by Chuck Todd of the possibility he might leave the race, “Number one — I’m not a masochist. And if I was dropping in the polls where I thought I wasn’t gonna win, why would I continue? I’d go back to my business. I have no problem with that.” This clearest hint of an exit strategy, over six months ago, hasn’t exactly panned out for Trump.

During a rally in Maryland this past Sunday, Trump said if he loses the Republican nomination, people shouldn’t expect him to stick around in the public eye. “I don’t think I’m going to lose,” said Trump, “but if I do, I don’t think you’re ever going to see me again, folks. I think I’ll go to Turnberry and play golf or something.”

So much for the feared third party run!

I also know Trump does not want the toughest job in American by looking at his actions. A real contestant knows the rules of the game he is playing. He does not whine late in the competition that the rules are unfair. Surely a serious presidential candidate would know that securing his party’s nomination is not about votes but about delegates. Trump never had the organization to secure loyal delegates like his competitor, Ted Cruz.

There are only two possible outcomes for Trump. He either wins his party’s nomination – on a first ballot vote – by accumulating the needed 1237 delegates. Or the Republican convention becomes a free-for-all and someone other than Trump becomes the nominee. Of course, Trump could win after subsequent ballots, but that seems highly unlikely as many of his pledged delegates are not loyal to him … beyond a first ballot vote.

No matter which scenario it is, the Republican Party is damned.

With scenario number one, the Republican Party gets decimated in November, losing in a landside to the Democratic nominee, most likely Hillary Clinton. That likelihood could very well trigger the death of the GOP as we now know it. With scenario number two, the GOP is also doomed but the party might be able to survive. As for Trump, scenario two allows him to play the victim of the evil Republican establishment and still claim to be a winner.

My feeling is that Trump prefers scenario number two. Having the nomination “stolen” from him is exactly what he wants. Not only does the “in-over-his-head” Trump get to exit the race, but he can spend the rest of his life complaining that he was “robbed” of the nomination while secretly relishing his narrow escape.

Said writer Drew Magary, “Trump is always droning on and on about winning, but his obsession is merely with LOOKING like he’s a success and not actually BEING one. Winning is a branding exercise for him. If the Republican Party pries the nomination out of his stubby, cocktail-frank fingers, he can say that he technically “won,” and then slip out the Quicken Loans Arena fire escape in disgust, leaving a mob of angry voters and tattered party platforms behind him.”

Perhaps no one has said it better than Stephanie Cegielski, communications director for the now defunct pro-Trump Make America Great Again PAC. “I don’t think even Trump thought he would get this far. And I don’t even know that he wanted to, which is perhaps the scariest prospect of all.”

Cegielski continued. “He certainly was never prepared or equipped to go all the way to the White House, but his ego has now taken over the driver’s seat, and nothing else matters. The Donald does not fail. The Donald does not have any weakness. The Donald is his own biggest enemy.”

It is way too late for Trump to drop out of the race. He has come too far and built up an insanely loyal following. There is nothing to be done but play out the hand. If he were to try to “chicken out,” his fanatic followers would have his scalp … no pun intended.

Pity poor Donald! All he ever wanted was a respectable showing as a presidential candidate. Running for the Republican nomination must have seemed like the ultimate way to promote his brand on the cheap. And now this?

The consummate con man done in by his own con. How rich!

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