OPINION:
Prediction: The most interesting aspect of Tuesday night’s election results will be what Donald Trump has to say from the podium in New York’s Westchester County.
Mr. Trump clinched the Republican nomination five weeks ago, and for a while, it looked like the Republican Party could unite. Mr. Trump met with GOP leadership in the House and Senate, worked on a joint fundraising proposal with the Republican National Committee, collected the endorsements of big-time GOP donors and made an effort to woo anti-Trump conservatives to his side.
National polls showed improvement in a head-to-head matchup with Hillary Clinton, with the two in a virtual dead heat.
But these last few weeks have been a doozy, with little to no positive news.
Unsealed court documents from Trump University surfaced last week, exposing allegations of fraud. The New York Times ran with the piece, and Mr. Trump, on the front lines defending himself, attacked the judge in the case accusing him of bias because of his Mexican heritage.
The move was met with universal condemnation.
On Tuesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan — who had just given his long-awaited endorsement to the businessman, called Mr. Trump’s remarks “the textbook definition of racism.”
Bob Corker, the Tennessee senator who is reportedly on Mr. Trump’s shortlist for a vice presidential pick, said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”: “This is not where we are as a country.”
The day before, Bloomberg News reported Mr. Trump was angered about the press he was receiving about the Trump University case and told his surrogates to essentially double down on the narrative the press was racist and question the judge’s credibility.
To make matters worse, the article exposed ineptitude within the Trump campaign. Mr. Trump’s own staff emailed surrogates Sunday with the message to stop talking about the Trump University case.
“Are there any other stupid letters that were sent to you folks?” Mr. Trump reportedly said of the email. “That’s one of the reasons I want to have this call, because you guys are getting sometimes stupid information from people that aren’t so smart.”
On Monday, NBC News ran a story titled “Donald Trump does not have a campaign,” detailing how far Mr. Trump is behind Mrs. Clinton in terms of gearing up for the general election. Mr. Trump lacks a coherent communication team and real-time rapid response crew, and has missed several opportunities within the past weeks to highlight Mrs. Clinton’s negatives, the report said.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Clinton delivered a so-called “foreign policy” speech which was more like a 35-minute attack ad on Mr. Trump’s temperament and fitness for the executive office — playing off the fears of many in the Republican Party.
Washington Post columnist Chris Cillizza declared Tuesday that it’s time for the Republican Party to choose sides — either to support Mr. Trump or get off the Trump train.
“For party leaders who’ve lined up with Trump amid polling that suggested he was running surprisingly competitively against Democrat Hillary Clinton, the time is rapidly approaching to either hop off the Trump train or decide you are riding it all the way to Nov. 8,” Mr. Cillizza wrote.
He quoted South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who told the New York Times Monday, “If anybody was looking for an off-ramp, this is probably it. There’ll come a time when love of country will trump hatred of Hillary.”
Despite the press call, there’s been no indication any Republican leaders who have endorsed Mr. Trump have any plans on retracting their support.
Still, it’s going to be interesting to hear what Mr. Trump has to say Tuesday night.
Mr. Trump will have garnered more votes than any other Republican presidential nominee by Tuesday evening. But instead of taking a victory lap, Mr. Trump should take the time to reassure his base he has the discipline, confidence and campaign structure to defeat Mrs. Clinton in the fall.
For anything less will send the GOP into a complete panic and his campaign into a potential free fall.
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