A sign that something really important is finally dawning on Trump

The good news is that Trump can't help himself. His lack of impulse control — his urge to say exactly the wrong things at precisely the worst times — rivals that of hemorrhoidally pained drunks in a bar. Still, he does now and then take uncharacteristic stabs at behaving like an adult. This he did Saturday night, after beating Nikki Haley in South Carolina's primary by 20 points.  

The NY Times' Jonathan Weisman reminded us that evening that after beating her in New Hampshire, "his victory speech displayed all the grace and decorum of a professional wrestling show." That's the Trump we all know and loathe. In S.C., however, if "not exactly gracious," neither was he "insulting," wrote Weisman. 

Why this probable fleeting change in behavior? To answer that, let's take a look at what caught The Wall Street Journal's attention. In S.C. Haley "won nearly 40% of the vote, which as she said in remarks Saturday evening 'is not some tiny group.'" Although she lost by double digits. reaping 40% of the vote in perhaps the darkest of Trump country — and against a former Republican president who's a far-right-winging lib-basher endorsed by almost every Republican official in S.C. — was a sign of real peril for the frontrunner.

Not a sign that he could lose the nomination, but an unmistakable sign that he could very well lose a heap of Republican votes in November. As the Journal put it: "As in New Hampshire, the size of her vote shows that millions in the party don’t want Mr. Trump back in the White House." Thus his strained attempt Saturday night to be conciliatory toward those voters by plugging his big, loud "Birdbrain Nikki" mouth. He needs a unified GOP if he's to win.   

The Journal noted that a "Fox News voter analysis found that 59% of Ms. Haley’s voters say they wouldn’t vote for Mr. Trump if he is the GOP nominee." That would be nearly one-quarter of all Republicans; or, turn out the lights. "And the exit poll showed that 36% of voters said a conviction in one of his criminal trials would make him unfit to be President." A conviction is scarcely required to confirm the no-brainer of his unfitness, then again, these aren't your average, I'd-prefer-that-a-mobster-not-be-a-U.S.-president voters.

Would the 59%, or the possible 36%, follow through by staying home or going third-party? Who knows? is the irrefutable answer to that. But that some significant portion of them would is a reasonable assumption. Trump will work to pull those voters back into his shrinking tent, and he has started by trying his damnedest to not piss them off even more. But, as noted, the good news is that he just can't help himself — not all the time. 

On a related note, Politico reported late yesterday afternoon that the Americans For Prosperity Action super PAC has terminated its financial backing of Haley."She has made it clear that she will continue to fight and we wholeheartedly support her in this effort," wrote the group's CEO in a memo to staff. "But given the challenges in the primary states ahead, we don’t believe any outside group can make a material difference to widen her path to victory."

I was rather shocked to learn that AfP ever believed she had a "path to victory." Do these political PAC people not follow politics? My impression was that the super-wealthy super PAC merely enjoyed dumping on Trump by backing Haley, since he so regularly has dumped on AfP. I gather my impression was wrong.

The news of its funding termination hurt, since now more than ever Haley needs outside cash to whittle away at Trump's inside-the-GOP reputation. The AfP wants him back in the White House no more than Haley does, except the only alternative is the evil, radical-leftist moderate Joe Biden. So with no path to victory for Nikki — which, again, has been bloody obvious for months — it scurried. And it's timing was awful.      

We should thank Ms. Haley for enduring her path as long as she has. She's the sharpest thorn in Trump's side by unremittingly (lately, anyway) reminding Republicans of the witless catastrophe he'd be, should catastrophe befall us all in November. But with a little luck, and with her remaining on the trail and with Trump's lack of impulse control, the Republican Party will continue unraveling — and dooming its nominee.

Comments

[VoiceOfReason]

Let's assume for the moment that Trump will lose a lot of the Nikki vote. If I recall correctly, about a third of her SC voters said in exit polls that they would not vote for Trump in November (which doesn't reflect the number of GOPers who say they won't vote for him if he's convicted in one of the upcoming trials). Is that enough to derail the Trump Inevitability Train the media wants to push at us? If it's real, yes. So the question would be, just how do those disaffected GOPers deal with their Never Trump situation? Do they 1) Vote for Biden, but split their vote and check boxes for GOP candidates down-ballot; 2) Not vote for President at all, but vote for GOP candidates down ballot; 3) stay home/don't vote at all; 4) Vote for a third party candidate for President? Clearly, the best scenario for Democrats is option #3, which would enable a much more thorough house (and senate) cleaning. That's the result the country needs.

[Anne J]

I don't know. I'm still feeling a sense that Trump's nomination isn't so inevitable. What if Nikki Haley does somehow pull off a miracle victory? I have read articles that say that she is the stronger candidate against Biden. Is it because of the age thing? O would love a woman president someday, but not just for the sale of having a woman president. I voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 not because she is a woman, but because she knew her stuff when it comes to governing. I would hate to see Haley elected just because Biden is old. And should we be worried about reported "protest votes" against Biden because of the Israel Hamas war?