I hate to break it to all the Trump supporters out there (not here, obviously), but Donald Trump does not want the Republican nomination.
And he's not going to run as a third party or independent if he doesn't get it.
Trump is a sell out, and is always looking to sell out.
I do not think there is anything in Trump’s worldview that he hasn’t attached a mental price tag to. The Republican nomination is no different.
From the moment he entered the Republican primary, Trump knew that the establishment GOP would never let him be the nominee, but if he would be able to win a significant number of delegates, he could essentially hold the nomination hostage at the convention.
The GOP has always had the means to buy his exit from the presidential race - whether it be through tax loopholes or shady deals for his multitude of business ventures, and likely many other avenues that it would behoove the American public to uncover - the only question was how high the ransom would go.
Of course, as long as Trump’s goal was simply to win Republican primary delegates, the blueprint has long been established. But anyone looking for any signs of any of the tactics or strategy that would actually win someone a general election, would be better off looking elsewhere.
Then the issue becomes how someone who has banked on the electorate that Trump has to run the tables in the Republican Primary — these very loyal, yet very partisan primary voters — can hold onto those same voters, when they have to start catering to a General election audience. Can Trump continue to bank on those voters if he starts to seriously go after the moderate vote, the female vote, the swing state vote, as he would have to as the actual nominee?
Some people might scoff at this idea, that he has no intention of being the nominee, frontrunner though he is — just look at how much of his own fortune he has put on the line to win the nomination. But a) it’s a well-worn truism in Trump’s world that to make money, you have to spend money, and b) let’s not forget how lucrative simply running for the Presidential nomination is. However many millions Trump spends on this campaign, he will more than make up for it with speaking gigs around the country after this is all over.
And that’s not even to mention what he stands to gain simply from a brokered convention, that is.
People seem to think that as long as he goes in with enough delegates to win on the first ballot, that it is essentially a done deal. But let’s also not forget that the GOP can essentially change whatever rules they want. It is their nominee, after all. It might well be wise to remember that this goes for the Democrats, as well. Regardless, though, Trump will not let go of those delegates for free.
If he goes into the Republican Convention with a majority of the delegates, then he can name his price - and name it he shall.
I suspect his claims of riots at the convention are not that far off from what he’s envisioning. But, I don’t think he’s being entirely honest about why they might really occur.
Donald Trump is going to sell out, just as he does any other time he does anything. But this time, it'll come at the price of all those who chose to vote for him.
If his past is any indication. And if his current actions are, as well.