OPINION:
Donald Trump wants to win.
This shouldn’t be news, but it is. The mainstream media is pushing an absurd narrative that Mr. Trump may surrender before the November election, that he’s so defeated by his sinking polls and negative coverage it wouldn’t be unreasonable to see him bow out of the race before the votes are cast in November.
CNBC and MSNBC contributor Ron Insana predicted as much.
“Given his personality type, I think he is exhibiting signs of intense frustration that comes from the diminishing amounts of undeserved adulation he received during his primary run,” Mr. Insana wrote. “That may very well lead him to simply take his ball and go home. That decision could be further accelerated by a GOP that is now having a rather serious case of buyer’s remorse.”
Politico floated the idea last month, asking the question: “Would Donald Trump really drop out for $150 million?” And MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday had a discussion on the possibility of Mr. Trump dropping out of the race before things got too humiliating for him.
Mr. Trump’s interview with CNBC earlier this month didn’t help his cause, with him saying if he lost, he’d take a “nice, long vacation.”
But Wednesday, Mr. Trump showed renewed focus.
“I want to win,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “That’s why I’m bringing on fantastic people who know how to win and love to win.”
He announced an overhaul to his campaign team, hiring Stephen Bannon, the executive chairman of Breitbart News, as his campaign executive chief and Kellyanne Conway, a veteran Republican pollster, as his campaign manager.
Mr. Trump broadened his message, pledging to fight for the American people — a winning cause.
“This is my pledge to the American people: as your President I will be your greatest champion. I will fight to ensure that every American is treated equally, protected equally, and honored equally,” Mr. Trump wrote on his Facebook page Tuesday night. “We will reject bigotry and hatred and oppression in all its forms, and seek a new future built on our common culture and values as one American people.”
It was a reprise of his speech given Monday, but an important point to drive home. And in order to win in politics, you need to stay on message and ingrain it in the populous mind — especially if you have the mainstream media against you.
Tuesday night, he again delivered a teleprompter speech, appealing to black voters.
“Our job is not to make life more comfortable for the rioter or the robber or the looter or the violent disrupter, of which there are many,” Mr. Trump said in Wisconsin. “Our job is to make life more comfortable for the African-American parent who wants their kids to be able to safely, safely walk the streets and walk to school.”
He continued, taking on Mrs. Clinton and her policies.
“We reject the bigotry of Hillary Clinton which panders and talks down to communities of color and sees them only as votes, that’s all they care about,” Mr. Trump said. “Not as individual human beings worthy of a better future.”
It was a provocative, powerful speech. It was what he needs to continue to do. As I’ve said before, it’s Mr. Trump’s message that wins, not his off-the-cuff riffing.
Mr. Trump’s campaign has gone through a rough patch since the Republican National Convention in July, with the New York Times reporting the campaign’s polling showed too many voters describing him in two words: “unqualified” and “racist.”
He needs to turn it around. It appears like he’s doing so — despite his detractors.
Cory Lewandowski, Mr. Trump’s former campaign manager, said Wednesday on CNN that the campaign shake-up is a “clear indication” Mr. Trump wants to win.
Mr. Trump has surprised this entire election season, and there’s no reason to think he can’t do it again, no matter what the polls say today.
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