Trump's Pivot to Normality Isn't Coming

As the 2016 Republican National Convention began, GOP chairman Reince Priebus spoke with confidence about the coming transformation of presumptive nominee Donald Trump. "He knows the pivot is important," Priebus said. "He has been better and I think he's going to be great moving forward." Priebus was hardly alone. Republican leaders have been saying the same thing for months now, elevating hope over reality as they pretend that Trump might suddenly become rational and responsible, curious and consistent, honest and honorable.

Instead, Trump has been more volatile, more bizarre, more mendacious, and more reckless. In the time since he accepted the nomination Trump has, among other things: revived a crackpot theory on Ted Cruz's father and the JFK assassination; suggested his adopted party is filled with people who don't want to help others; invited Russia to influence the U.S. presidential election; smeared the parents of a fallen U.S. Army captain; trashed a retired four-star general; and appeared not to know that Russia had annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014.

Some of this is merely aggravating. Some of it is outlandish. Some of it is insulting. And some of it is frightening. Trump accepted the Republican nomination in Cleveland on July 21. Here's what he's done since.

July 22

Fewer than 12 hours after his acceptance speech, Trump revived the conspiracy theory he's previously floated about the involvement of Rafael Cruz with Lee Harvey Oswald in the months before the assassination of John F. Kennedy. At a press availability during an event to thank campaign volunteers, Trump said:

"I don't know his father. I met him once. I think he's a lovely guy. I think he's a lovely guy. All I did was point out the fact that on the cover of the National Enquirer there was a picture of him and crazy Lee Harvey Oswald having breakfast. Now, Ted never denied that it was his father. Instead, he said Donald Trump—I had nothing to do with it. This was a magazine that, frankly, in many respects should be very respected."