Politics –
Save Face: How Trump Could Quit
The Republican National Convention and the nomination of Donald J. Trump as their choice for president is less than a week away. So, what could go wrong? PLENTY! Not only are scores of Republican delegates plotting to “Dump Trump,” but new reports suggest that Donald Trump may actually attempt to save face and dump himself!
Politics
For “The Donald,” the Republican primaries were a hoot and a great big bunch of fun and games. The late night tweets, the name calling (“Lyin’ Ted,” “Little Marco,” “Crooked Hillary,” etc.), as well as the hoards of conservatives filling stadiums, chanting his name and elevating him to the cloaked hero who was going to save white America and make it “Great Again,” was quite the ego boost to the perpetually attention-starved billionaire. However, as the saying goes: “All good things must come to an end. By getting the nomination, this means only one person stands in the way of Donald Trump becoming President of the United States. However, it also means one person could hand Trump the biggest and most embarrassing loss in the history of politics for all the world to see. The ego of Donald J. Trump would never allow that to happen.
Let’s be real: Donald Trump doesn’t really want to be president. He just wants the ego-stroking bragging rights that he could be if he actually wanted to. In fact, Trump has proven he’s more interested in running for president than serving as president.
Being elected POTUS would bog Trump down with such “not-so-fun” details as policy development and transition plans. It would also mean Trump would have to follow rules. He would have to be politically correct. He would have to sit in the Oval Office and actually make real life decisions. He would have to reach compromising agreements with Democrats AND Republicans, instead of doing whatever the hell he wants. He would have to read from a teleprompter for the next 4 years instead of just winging it at the mic while standing next to Vladimir Putin or Angela Merkel. He would have to give up the 3am rude tweets on Twitter. Yikes!
Further, Trump would have to divest himself from various boards and organizations. He would have to shift control of his multiple companies and investments to someone else and actually focus on running a country. He would have to reveal his taxes. Oh, and did I mention he would have to give up the 3am rude tweets on Twitter? Oh, brother!
Very few people in life want that much structure and control over their life — and Donald Trump just happens to be one of them. He would much prefer to avoid the grueling job of governing in favor of returning to his businesses, living in Trump Tower instead of the White House and enjoying his now-permanent status as a pop culture/political celebrity.
With this theory in mind, political conversations in Washington and beyond are beginning to suggest that Trump will seek an exit strategy before the election — so as to avoid a humiliating loss, or because he never really wanted it in the first place.
Stuart Stevens, a senior adviser to Mitt Romney in 2012, says Trump is “a con man who is shocked his con hasn’t been called” and agrees that he is looking for the nearest emergency exit.
“He has no sense of how to govern,” Stevens said. “He can’t even put together a campaign.”
Vanity Fair magazine is also echoing the theory of a Trump exit plan, by reporting that his entire campaign was a rouse to promote his latest venture: Trump TV. According to the popular periodical, Trump has spent the last several months bashing the media just so he can announce his own name-branded source for the news — all while in front of billions of viewers on the national stage of the Republican National Convention.
Even Trump supporters acknowledge that his primary campaign seemed more of a vanity tour than of a man who legitimately pines to be President of the United States. Stephanie Cegielski, the former communications director of Trump’s former Super PAC said that not only did the former reality television star never expect to be the Republican nominee, but he never even wanted to be president.
When Cegielski was brought aboard as communications director for the Make America Great Again PAC last summer, she said the instructions from Trump Tower were to make sure Trump finished a respectable 2nd place in the GOP primary.
“I don’t think even Trump thought he would get this far,” she said. “And I don’t even know that he wanted to, which is perhaps the scariest prospect of all.”
“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.”
And therein lies the problem. Donald Trump can’t deliver on forcing Mexico to pay for a wall to keep all Mexicans out. He can’t buck the constitution and create a law to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S. These and other empty promises were all showboating and rhetoric that haven’t a chance in hell of happening. Trump knows this and isn’t about to let himself lose in any official capacity. Not only would losing ruin the Trump brand, but it would also dismantle Donald’s self-imposed opinion that he is an eternal winner. So, how can Donald Trump save face at this juncture? Quit before it’s too late!
Politics
If Trump quits, he will never do it in a way that makes him look weak. NEVER! So, what are his options?
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BEFORE THE CONVENTION
Before House Speaker and Convention Chairman Paul Ryan bangs the gavel to open Monday’s RNC event, Trump could simply tell the world he’s changed his mind. He could make up a story about wanting to remain in the private sector and remain in control of his billion dollar businesses. Or, he could make up some excuse about his family being tired of the negative scrutiny and not wanting him to go forward. Trump could then save face by boasting that he beat out 16 other Republican challengers and the GOP establishment, but simply decided to leave on HIS OWN terms.
However, the likelihood of him quitting before the convention is a big fat zero. Remember, absolutely everything Trump does is about creating an appearance of winning and getting as much positive attention as humanly possible. He would never quit before the convention and miss one more opportunity for attention and adulation on the national stage. Leaving the birthday party before they’ve even blown out the candles would not provide him with the maximum ego stroke he so desperately craves.
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DURING THE CONVENTION
With Republicans from Maine to Montana threatening to change the rules and/or abstain just to avoid making Donald Trump the 2016 GOP presidential nominee and de facto leader of the party, his best opportunity for the most dramatic exit would be during the convention.
Imagine a prolonged convention floor fight, with yelling, screaming and maybe even a little pushing and shoving. Imagine delegates bickering openly in favor of and against “The Donald.” Then imagine Trump stepping up to the mic and saying: “Hey, if you’re not going to appreciate me, then never mind. It’s not worth it. You can have the Republican Party. I quit!”
Wow, what a TV moment it would be. Trump could save face by slipping away as an under-appreciated leader who won everything, but gave it all up on his own terms in the best interest of the country. Trump could also use this moment to humiliate the Republican establishment (who dared to publicly scold him over the Mexican judge and more) by leaving them in the lurch and the convention in chaos, as they scramble for a nominee. Winning!
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AFTER THE CONVENTION
This method is the riskiest and not for the faint at heart.
If Trump’s poll numbers continue to plummet and Hillary Clinton broadens her double-digit lead, any pre-election exit would appear weak and look like the boy who took his marbles and went home in a huff. It would also portray Trump as losing to a woman, which he could never allow. However, if Trump were to actually win the presidency, that would be his absolute epitome of glory.
By winning, Trump could save face by saying: “I won the primaries. I won the nomination. I even beat Crooked Hillary and won the presidency. Except I don’t want it. I changed my mind. I’m the King of winning…but never mind!”
It would be the ultimate mic drop and would play perfectly into the narrative that Donald Trump is always a winner.
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Whatever method he chooses, the political world is convinced: Donald Trump does not want to be president, Donald Trump is actively planning an exit strategy, and Donald Trump has one more trick (Trump TV?) up his con-man sleeve.
Stay tuned…
This election year so far has been a joke….Trump, Hillary, Romney, Sanders……none are qualified. And they're all as full of b.s. as the other POTUS that have been, or are, in office. As for following rules…….too funny. They all make up their own damn rules and the current one loves making his "executive" orders……I say get rid of the President period…..it'd save us a shitload of money and headache. How and why do they (and their spouses) deserve a salary of several hundred thousand dollars a year after they leave office. I sure as hell don't vote for these fools, and to keep paying them from my hard-earned money is absurd. It's all about their ego, and you sheep just stoke it up by believing all their lies. And as for Hillary, being endorsed by the sitting POTUS…..funny. Especially when the endorsement comes when she's "cleared" of that email debacle.… Read more »