According to a new story in The Hill, several of the country’s richest Republicans would have to think very carefully about what to do if 2016 came down to Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump. They interviewed former Los Angeles Mayor Dick Riordan and posed the question to him: Who would you choose?
Riordan said, “I would probably go find a deserted island.”
The story goes on to tell of a recent donor luncheon in Beverly Hills. Gathered at the Hotel Bel-Air were many of the men whose money is indispensable to the Republican establishment. And when the question was posed to the group – Who would you choose between Trump and Clinton? – the majority of Republicans said they would go with Madame Secretary herself.
Even when the host of the lunch – former ambassador Rockwell Schnabel – insisted that it was just friends bantering among each other, he couldn’t quite bring himself to put Trump over. After assuring The Hill that all of the Republican donors would throw their support behind the GOP nominee, he called back with a disclaimer.
“My only caveat would be that: I assume that the Republican we’ll nominate will be somebody that would make a great president,” he said.
Which, if you have to make that caveat, you’re basically admitting that the original story is true and that you would not support Donald Trump.
What’s also interesting is that phrasing. “I assume…” What is feeding this continued certainty that Trump will eventually fade away or implode? Is it possible? Of course. Likely? You could make a case for that. Certain? If you still think there’s no way that Trump could win the nomination, you either haven’t been paying attention or you know something the rest of us don’t. Since these bigwigs are definitely paying attention and since the other possibility is too depressing to contemplate, what we’re looking at is an attempt to influence voters. If you hear “Oh, it’ll never be Trump” enough times, you start looking for another candidate. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Whether or not Donald Trump is the ideal Republican candidate, it is clear that we have to try something new. Safe, donor-approved (if not outright chosen) Republicans have caused as much damage to this country as Democrats. You think Trump is crazy? What’s even crazier is this idea that the Republican Party can only win by being Democrat Lite.
And what’s crazier still is allowing a handful of billionaires to decide who the rest of us should vote for. And if they would rather see Hillary Clinton in the White House than Donald Trump, that should tell you everything you need to know about where their priorities lie.
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