NYT: Would Donald Trump Quit if He Wins the Election? He Doesn’t Rule It Out

[democrattotheend]

This is a bizarre article in the New York Times suggesting that Trump might win the election and then decide not to take office, using the publicity to boost his businesses.

Presented in a recent interview with a scenario, floating around the political ether, in which the presumptive Republican nominee proves all the naysayers wrong, beats Hillary Clinton and wins the presidency, only to forgo the office as the ultimate walk-off winner, Mr. Trump flashed a mischievous smile.

“I’ll let you know how I feel about it after it happens,” he said minutes before leaving his Trump Tower office to fly to a campaign rally in New Hampshire.

It is, of course, entirely possible that Mr. Trump is playing coy to earn more news coverage. But the notion of the intensely competitive Mr. Trump’s being more interested in winning the presidency than serving as president is not exactly a foreign concept to close observers of this presidential race.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/08/us/politics/donald-trump-president.html?action=click&contentCollection=us&module=NextInCollection&region=Footer&pgtype=article&version=newsevent&rref=collection%2Fnews-event%2Felection-2016

[grossproffit]

1. His brand name is in the crapper. He'd need sponsors. What about slogans?

Have a Sheet and a Smile?
Come White! You're the Trump generation?
We Know Hate?

[PJMcK]

2. Donald Trump's kids might be worried

It would be a strange reality if Donald Trump were to win the presidency. So, for the moment, let's accept conventional thinking and assume that The Donald doesn't become president.

The damage that he has brought upon his brand is incalculable. I think he has seriously miscalculated his strategy, whatever that really is. Major corporations like Apple and the PGA are among many that have distanced themselves from Mr. Trump. Even his television network, NBC, walked away from him. Recovering those kinds of relationships will be very difficult right now but after the fall campaign, where the Clinton campaign will attack him mercilessly, it will be impossible. There's just too much mendacity and possibly illegality for him to recover a respectable reputation.

So far, most of the public hasn't been paying too much attention to the controversies around Mr. Trump. But once the many unacceptable stories about him are revealed to the attention of general election voters, his reputation will be in shambles. Accordingly, who is the targeted audience for his new brand? If it's the low-information, low-education supporters he has now, they can't financially support his businesses; there just aren't enough of them with enough money to fleece.

I suspect that his children have a more reality-based view of the world than their father. They must be very concerned about the prospects for the family businesses after Mr. Trump's quixotic and idiotic endeavor over the past year.

[Maru Kitteh]

3. Not that it's going to happen, but I think he would "serve" by outsourcing/hiring it out

Which is to say he would have a trusted few advisors that would do about 98% of the work for him. Partly due to laziness, but mostly because he's stupid, and I think deep down somewhere, he has some understanding of that. Don the con would be in charge of golf and parties, and getting his orange mug on TeeVee.