“It’s very possible that I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it.” Donald Trump
Yes, he actually did say that once, back in 2000. Let’s take the man at his word and see how it might play out. Keep in mind that this is a fantasy exercise:
Donald Trump has not has a fun month. His poll numbers are down. He has been outed as unable to self-fund his campaign. A cadre of Republicans are trying to free the delegates to vote for anyone they like. That whole “pivot to presidential” thing has not gone well; it is simply not his nature to tone it down and stay on script. Politics may have looked glamorous from afar, but perhaps up close the nitty-gritty of political life turned out not to suit him well.
Now suppose that Trump looked at this situation and concluded that deep down inside, he would really prefer to drop the whole thing – if that could be done in a way that benefitted him. As a businessman, he might ask himself whether there might be a business-type solution to his dilemma. Hmmm, perhaps he could cut a win-win deal with the RNC. If he were to “sell” the Republican nomination back to them for, say $100,000,000.00 (one hundred million dollars), he could leave the stage with his dignity intact, retain the adulation of his fans, and preserve the option of re-capturing the spotlight at a future time. Not to mention the fact that he would have an extra $100mm in his pocket. Surely that beats sentencing his 10-year old son to live in a fishbowl throughout puberty.
From the point of view of the RNC, this could be their ideal deal. At the moment, they are almost broke. They do not have enough money to provide much help to their downticket candidates, and their ability to fundraise could remain problematic as long as Trump remains in the picture. In addition, the RNC would gain an opportunity to re-boot. They could use this to rebrand themselves as something other than Team Gridlock and the Home of the Wackos. They might even decide that rather than getting behind any of the clowns who spent the primary season demonstrating why they are unlikely to win on the national level, they would prefer to run a candidate who could trounce Hillary Clinton. Running a sane candidate might require telling the tea party faction to shut up and vote for a moderate or someone else they loathed, much as the DNC has done to progressives for too long. Can you hear the late night monologues yet?
Keep in mind that before anyone knew whether Trump’s candidacy would sink or swim, he made a very smart move. He announced that in his opinion, the U.S. economy was in a bubble and he was not sure whether he wished to preside over the bursting of that bubble. In other words, he already has a convenient exit door through which he can leave gracefully at any time, if he so chooses.
Where might the RNC look for a quick $100mm? Several possibilities spring to mind. Sheldon Adelson has pledged to donate that much to Trump’s campaign. If Adelson secretly prefers a different candidate, then perhaps he would be willing to pay Trump to step aside and make room for whoever Adelson wants. In theory, Adelson could view the $100mm as the price it costs to buy the means of selecting the next POTUS, given Hillary Clinton’s multiple weaknesses. Then there are the Koch brothers, who are not thought to be admirers of Trump. Perhaps they would be willing to pay him to go away, but the RNC might not wish to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Koch International. Michael Bloomberg might want to buy the nomination for himself. Mr. Preibus and his co-workers may know of other potential sources who would be delighted to support a candidate whom they view as something other than a total embarrassment.
How ironic it would be if the nomination were to be the most profitable thing that Trump ever “built.” And he knew exactly when to sell it.
