Trouncing GOP presidential candidates Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the May 3 Indiana Primary, 69-year-old real estate tycoon Donald Trump was the last man standing, knocking his last rivals in the GOP race. Trump dispatched 18 candidates, starting Aug. 6, 2015 at the first Fox News Debate. Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes so badly miscalculated Trump’s potential, he gave his host-and-moderator Megyn Kelly the green light to blindside Trump. When the dust settled, Ailes and Kelly had egg on their faces for not taking Trump seriously. Republican National Committee officials were also so convinced Trump would flame out they colluded whipping up disparaging attacks against Trump in the media and the GOP. Ailes long silence now that Trump becomes the presumptive GOP nominee shows he rolled snake-eyes, miscalculating Trump’s staying power.
Fox News and Kelly are now clamoring to jump om the Trump bandwagon but only after hitting Trump with everything but the kitchen sink. Trump faced more negative political ads and more unfavorable treatment by all media outlets, not just Fox News. Cruz’s decision last night to throw in the towel had more to do with mounting debts with donors pulling the plug on his funding. After insisting he’d stay in until Trump reached the magic delegate number of 1,237, Kasich finally called it quits, realizing there’s no contested convention, his only path ahead. Neither Cruz nor Kasich had any path to a brokered convention, after losing New York, the I-95 primaries and now Indiana to Trump by wide margins. Indiana voters mirrored the public’s mood that it’s time for primaries to end. Trump’s big win spoke volumes about GOP voters getting behind Trump’s outsider campaign.
Winning only his home state of Ohio March 15, Kasich lost all 40 contests by wide margins, staying in the race under the dubious rationale he had a shot at a contested convention. Just yesterday Kasich’s campaign manager John Weaver insisted he was in it until Trump hit the1,237 magic number. Today’s announcement that Kasich would finally drop out showed how disingenuous his campaign was from Day 1. Kasich was supported by “stop Trump” Super PACs for only one purpose: To prevent Trump from getting enough delegates. Both Kasich and Cruz eliminated themselves from any consideration as VP, campaigning to “stop Trump,” not because they had any chance of winning the nomination. “Our strategy has been and continues to be one that involves winning the nomination in an open convention,” said Weaver, until the Kasich campaign threw in the towel.
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus kept his powder dry before finally capitulating to Trump’s inevitable nomination. “We all need to unite and focus on defeating Hillary Clinton,” said Priebus, calling Trump the GOP’s “presumptive nominee.” Recent GOP candidates, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney, have to give up the “stop Trump” fantasy and face reality: Trump’s the 2016 GOP nominee. “We’ve got a candidate that is winning in every single state. I mean, a week earlier, I don’t think he has lost a county in six states,” said Priebus. “So I mean, look, it’s time to unite.” Cruz and Kasich burnt all bridges with Trump, much like former GOP candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fl.), who disgraced himself with vile personal attacks before the March 15 Florida primary.
Trump rocked the GOP establishment, not fitting into the pop culture stereotypes of conservative politics. Fox News took way too long to accept that Trump’s own version of conservative politics, differing from today’s obsession with pro-life, anti-gay or anti-same-sex marriage issues. Trump’s focus on immigration and economic issues resonates with 2016 voters, disgusted with Washington’s bitter partisan divide. Trump’s Indiana victory speech asked voters to come together as one nation, as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans. Trump’s call for Democrats and Republicans to come together to back his campaign presents problems for Hillary, whose campaign is viewed as old school partisan politics. President Barack Obama broke his 2008 promise to govern as a “post-partisan” president. Once Barack signed Obamacare into law March 23, 2010, his campaign promise exploded.
Watching Cruz and Kasich drop out, Republicans and Democrats can’t figure out how to respond to Trump’s presumptive GOP nomination. Priebus hopes to gat ahead of the curve, especially the “strop Trump” movement to help unify the Party. While Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton isn’t the nominee yet, she’s begun attacking Trump at every opportunity. Calling Trump a “loose cannon,” Hillary hopes to build the narrative that Trump isn’t disciplined or stable enough for the Oval Office. Hit with every attack possible during the GOP primaries, Trump’s ready to counter Hillary’s attacks, hitting her back hard. Trump’s biggest challenge is keeping the momentum—and media attention—now that the primary’s over. Spending some time studying key talking points on foreign and domestic policy would be Trump’s best way to prepare for the general election.
