Thursday, August 4, 2016

Trump train off the rails and into the ditch. There's talk of an intervention.

It seems everyone connected with Trump's campaign is alarmed except Trump himself.   Rumors are flying of campaign disarray, of more prominent Republicans defecting, of an intervention involving Reince Priebus, Newt Gingrich, and the Trump kids.  People are even speculating what will happen if Trump quits.

Campaign chief Paul Manafort is not credible when he says that "everything is fine."   What is credible is between his lines when Manacort says"Well, first of all, the candidate is in control of his campaign.  That's No. 1.  And I'm in control of doing the things that he wants me to do in the campaign."

For those of us who try to read the deeper meaning in what people communicate, that answer speaks of deep frustration and resignation -- especially when you know how campaign strategists and managers usually run the show, telling the candidate what to do, even to the smallest details.   Because they are professionals and know how to run campaigns.   Manafort is saying:   I can't control him;   I've given up trying.

No insiders are on the record, so we depend on leaks, innuendos and meta-communications to piece together a picture.   A source for Politico says Priebus abandoned his softer stance with Trump in a phone call, the gist of which was:  'Do you realize how badly you're fucking this up?"    Chris Christie did say publicly that Trump's remarks about the Khan family were "inappropriate" and that the loss of their son on the battlefield “gives them the right to say whatever they want, whether they’re right or wrong.”

Gingrich said that "What Trump has done is very self-destructive.  I don't know if it's a fixable problem. . . . He's got to find a way to slow down, really learn some new lessons."   Gingrich also said that Trump is helping Clinton win by proving himself to be the more unacceptable candidate of the two of them.

Stay tuned for the denouement of this roller coaster ride.

Ralph

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