"I'm not quiting, I'm withdrawing!" Trump's end-game.

[skip fox]

My guess: Whether the Republicans toss him out, strongly urge him to quit (perhaps that have something to blackmail him with), or Trump himself sees a humiliating loss just over the horizon is that he'll "withdraw" before Sept. 14 (so he won't have to debate and so that it won't look like that's the case since the debate is scheduled for the 26th) blaming, basically, the rigged election process, the back-stabbing Republican establishment, and the lying media.

My guess.

(I'm 69 and have been watching the political stage for over 55 years, and I can easily say I've never seen any election (aqnd I was busted in Chicago in 1968) as entertaining and bizarre as this. It's great to share it with friends at DU.)

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. I don't think Trump can imagine a humiliating loss.

He won't withdraw to avoid losing (or debating) because he can't imagine himself losing. I really think he's that delusional.

[unblock]

4. yep. he's still getting headlines, right? that means he's winning, of course!

[NurseJackie]

5. Or he'll come up with some warped view of reality by saying he "won" because their voices were heard

... that seems to be a common and popular way for someone to deny they lost. Seems liked I've heard it (or variations of it) for decades now.

[joshcryer]

2. He's gone cook-cook for coco-puffs.

Dude's lost it completely. He can do no wrong. He's a total narcissist.

He won't be dropping out and until election day he'll ramp up the nasty rhetoric.

And when he loses resoundingly he's going to get even crazier and cause potentially a constitutional crisis.

I'm dead serious about how horrible this man is.

[unblock]

3. i can't see him leaving. i'm sure he thinks one good zinger in the debates and he's winning this.

and he's really good with zingers.
really, really good.
the best.
the best zingers.
zing bing bang boom.
believe me.

[librarylu]

6. I don't know.

You tell me. There's something going on.

[unblock]

10. the problem for republicans is not this election, it's the brand.

trump doesn't have a particular interest in the republican party brand. he's only interested in the trump brand.

trump's brand isn't helped at all by withdrawing. he'll stick it out and do fine even when he loses. he'll cash in on his notoriety. book deals, speaking fees, trump tv, etc.

notice that he's still got the hardcore republican party regulars supporting him. it's really the leaders and pundits who worry about the republican party brand who are panicking. they're worried about the next election and the future of the party. but that's not trump's problem.

[cleveramerican]

7. He has nightmares about turning into Mitt

I think going through the rest of his life as a loser might be too much for him to bear.
I also think he is too in love with his own celebrity to ever quit or get pushed out

[PatSeg]

8. I lived in Chicago in 1968

I really never thought we'd see anything to top that time. This campaign is in a category all its own. We live in very strange times.

[landolfi]

9. I wonder if the Hillary 2A comment

was Trump Desparation for "I could win if she died, that's probably the only way, so I might as well bring it up."

[unblock]

11. thing is, he'd lose in a landslide if that actually happened.

[tinrobot]

12. You cant blackmail someone who craves all forms of attention

The best they can do is to pay him off, that would be very expensive.

[Loki Liesmith]

13. Nah

No withdrawal. He doesn't believe he's losing.

[randome]

14. But if he withdraws, he stabs the GOP in the heart. There is no time to replace him.

Ballots are fixed in many states as of today. So do you really think Trump would go through the rest of his life being despised by the GOP rank and file for running out on them?
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Meredith McIver approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]