It's two weeks from the start of the GOP convention in Cleveland, a time in which a traditional party nominee would be consolidating his base of support and seeking to broaden his appeal. So, what's Donald Trump doing? Attacking the GOP-friendly Chamber of Commerce; boasting about the "unbelievable" support he's getting from women which he says is now "up to 32 or 33" percent; and literally calling for any former rivals who refuse to endorse him to be barred from elective office.
Some of that is understandable—Trump ran against the GOP establishment, and the Chamber of Commerce is certainly part of that establishment. Some of that is delusional—celebrating the fact that he's up to winning support from roughly a third of women voters and in the same breath trying to claim that his backing from women is strong. But that last one sounds too crazy even for Trump. Ban politicians from seeking office because they've broken a campaign pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee? Yes, it's crazy. Yes, Trump said it.
"They broke their word," Trump said Wednesday at a campaign rally in Bangor, Maine. "In my opinion, they should never be allowed to run for public office again because what they did is disgraceful."
Trump gets something of a pass on crazy pronouncements because he makes them almost daily. So a call to prohibit his onetime opponents from public service doesn't get much attention. But it's a reality check for those still clinging to hope that Trump will change or become more presidential because he's now occasionally giving speeches off a teleprompter.
And what makes this Trumpism even more Trumpy, if you will, is that he's castigating others for taking precisely the position he held three months ago. As noted by Allahpundit at Hot Air, during a Milwaukee town hall in late March, Trump renounced the pledge that he now finds inviolable.
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04.23.2024