Pirate's Cove

One problem: he never really discourages violence

(Washington Post) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Sunday that he hopes a contested Republican convention in July “doesn’t involve violence” if he is denied the nomination during second-ballot voting.

“I hope it doesn’t involve violence. I hope it doesn’t. I’m not suggesting that,” Trump told reporters on Sunday here in Staten Island. “I hope it doesn’t involve violence, and I don’t think it will. But I will say this, it’s a rigged system, it’s a crooked system. It’s 100 percent corrupt.”

Regardless, it is the system that’s been in place for a long, long time, and if Trump is unable to navigate the process, how can he tell us he’d be able to perform the job of president? Trump’s ground game has been non-existent in many states, which meant he was unable to woo delegates

“Nobody has better toys than I do. I can put them on the best planes and bring them to the best resorts anywhere in the world,” Trump said. “You’re basically saying, ‘Delegate, listen, we’re going to send you to Mar-a-Lago on a Boeing 757, you’re going to use the spa, you’re going to do this, you’re going to do that, we want your vote. That’s a corrupt system.”

Except, all that’s really necessary is to show up in states and talk to them, lay out your vision and policy platforms. It’s really that simple.

As Ann Althouse notes

Does he sound like he’s encouraging violence even when he’s saying he hopes there won’t be violence? If so, it’s because he doesn’t say “I don’t want violence” or “I urge my supporters to refrain from violence.” There’s something oddly passive about “I hope it doesn’t involve violence” — as if he holds no sway with his supporters, as if he’s suggesting it’s up to the other side to resist doing the things that will necessitate violence from my people. So I hear a vague, deniable threat.

It does rather sound like an “if you don’t do what I want, well, things might get ugly” threat. Leon Wolfe

Make no mistake: “reform its system” is code for “let me win even though I did not get 50% of the delegates as the rules specifically require.” All this is from Trump is more not-very-subtle threats of violence and chaos if he doesn’t win, even though he’s not entitled to win under the rules.

And this could have all been avoided if Trump had hired even marginally competent people. Trump has enough supporters that he could very easily have done what Cruz has done in terms of getting delegates for other candidates who are loyal to him, and he wouldn’t have this problem. But contrary to his own bluster, he hires crappy, incompetent people instead of good ones, and so we have what we have.

If Trump manages to get the required number of delegates to be the GOP nominee, or wins the balloting at a contested convention, you can utterly guarantee 100% that the media will be slobbering to destroy Trump, and this kind of talk in the general election will be quickly spun to position him in the worst possible light.

Crossed at Right Wing News.