Donald Trump: ‘I Have Been Treated Very Unfairly’
Donald Trump spoke out against the Republican National Committee, the Republican Party, and the party establishment on Tuesday at the town hall meeting in Wisconsin. He explained that he believes these groups are plotting against him for the nomination, according to Townhall. Even though he currently has more delegates than the other two remaining candidates combined, it has been rumored that the GOP will try to block his nomination.
Is Donald Trump correct? Are Republican leaders plotting to ensure he will not become president even if he gets the nomination? A group of conservative GOP donors recently asked a consulting firm to investigate the feasibility of an independent presidential bid, according to Politico. While the result of this inquiry was not very promising, the real question is why they asked in the first place. Are they planning to fund a third-party candidate? Are they considering the possibility that The Donald might make a third-party or independent run for the presidency if they succeed in blocking him?
A conservative third candidate could derail the campaign of the Republican nominee. While a conservative third-party candidate might not win due to the difficulty involved in getting on every state’s ballot in so short of time, that candidate could make it difficult for the Republican nominee to win by leeching just enough votes to ensure a GOP loss. Would conservatives really hand the election to a Democrat rather than support The Donald? Would Trump run as an independent if he doesn’t get the nomination?
Donald Trump again refused to support the Republican nominee in the event that he does not get the nomination. Last month, he has been quoted by the Huffington Post as stating that he would consider an independent run if he doesn’t get the nomination.
“I signed a pledge but it’s a double-edge pledge, and as far as I’m concerned they’re in default. That means the other side can do what they have to do.”
Yesterday, Donald Trump again told CNN he would not support Ted Cruz or any other GOP candidate.
“No, I don’t anymore…. (Cruz) was essentially saying the same thing.”
Both Cruz and Kasich have deflected questions regarding their willingness to support Donald Trump if he is the Republican nominee.
Donald Trump is not a typical 21st-century GOP candidate. John Cassidy of the New Yorker explained the most significant of those differences concisely.
“For the past forty years, the G.O.P. has been an uneasy alliance of social conservatives, free-market conservatives, and corporate interest groups, with the latter largely dictating economic policy. Trump has been drawing on a base of alienated white working-class and middle-class voters, seeking to remake the G.O.P. into a more populist, nativist, avowedly protectionist, and semi-isolationist party that is skeptical of immigration, free trade, and military interventionism.”
Is Donald Trump a populist? Populists are politicians and political activists who seek to represent the interests of ordinary people. According to the New Yorker, nominating a populist could change the party and have long-term effects on the party’s platform. Being a populist, though, is allegedly what draws voters in the 2016 election.
The populist message has been very popular in both Democrat and Republican primaries. Bernie Sanders is also a populist, and while he may not have a clear lead in his race, he is doing much better than pundits predicted against Democrat icon Hillary Clinton.
Donald Trump is offering voters something they are not hearing from the other GOP candidates. Emily Thorson, an assistant professor of political science at Boston College, explained in Politico how pundits were wrong about what voters wanted.
“The fact that Trump has been so successful suggests that there is a substantial disconnect between voters and elites on what “being a Republican” really means.”
Is Donald Trump reminding the Republican party of their obligation to satisfy the voters?
[Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]
