The battle between Donald Trump and the Republican Party began in earnest with the first debate moderated by FOX Noise in August of 2015. It was obvious that Reince Priebus had conspired with Roger Ailes in an attempt to derail a candidate despised by Republican leadership. Personal attacks on Trump by Megyn Kelly failed miserably, as proven by his rise in the polls the following day.
The feud became an all-out war as the establishment aligned themselves with other candidates in with a desperate hope to end Trump’s campaign. Trump fought back, successfully demeaning the character and hopes of the Republican faithful. When Marco Rubio attempted to ‘play like Trump,’ he failed miserably and lost his home state of Florida by 20 points.
One by one the ‘favorite sons’ of the GOP fell by the wayside. As a last resort, they supported the most hated Senator in either party, Ted Cruz. He, too, was soundly defeated by voters who may not have been Trump supporters, but were definitely establishment haters.
Trump praised himself for funding his own campaign until he became the presumptive nominee; now he is begging for donations. But he may not be given the funds he needs to wage a presidential campaign.
The effort to stop Trump has not ceased; it has begun to grow in earnest with the hope of denying him the nomination at the convention next month. The division between Trump and many Republican leaders has reached a crucial point, and neither side is backing down.
Trump’s ego will not allow him to admit when he is wrong. The truth is that he has absolutely no chance of defeating Hillary Clinton without establishment support.
“I mean, I’ve had more opposition from the Republican Party than I do from the Democrats,” Trump said during a rally here, drawing boos from the crowd. “The Republican Party has to be tough and has to be smart. And if they’re not tough and smart, I’m going to win, but a lot of other people won’t.”
One of his greatest critics and detractors is Mitt Romney, but Trump assails him for his lack of support in no uncertain terms.
Trump rallied his supporters against Romney on Saturday, telling them Romney “choked and he let us down.”
“The guy is a stone-cold loser,” Trump said.
I might be completely insane, but I cannot believe that any true Republican can vote for Trump as the once Grand Old Party’s nominee. The only possible candidate who could be less qualified than Donald Trump to be the President of the United States is Sarah Palin. By the way, unless you’ve forgotten, she endorsed Trump with the hope of becoming his running mate. Wouldn’t that be perfect?
As Trump continues to seek the support of the Republican establishment, he continues to attack the same leadership he persists to demean. But Trump continues his demands; it is now his party.
“We have to get smart. We have to get tough. We have to stop being so politically correct,” Trump said. “The Republican Party and our leaders, we’ve got to get down to business.”
Op-Ed
By James Turnage
The Truth With No Restrictions 