Trump Talk™

What's a liberal troll?

Trolls you mean the kind that live under bridges?

calling someone out on hypocrisy is against the rules?

calling someone out on hypocrisy is against the rules?

Kim Kardashian and Bruce Jenner 2016?

Who is Bernie's running mate?

Trolls you mean the kind that live under bridges?

Trolls you mean the kind that live under bridges?

Wow. He cried to the mod over 'hypocrite'?

looooooooooooooooooooooooool

I think I will bow out of this topic. Too many liberal trolls with thin skin and nothing better to do. It will end with the same 5 people that agree on everything except the one of them that likes guns and of course the topic will die of boredom.

/wave

Amid mounting concerns about Donald Trump’s candidacy from the GOP establishment, Republican leaders in at least two states have found a way to make life a lot harder for him.

The Virginia and North Carolina parties are in discussions about implementing a new requirement for candidates to qualify for their primary ballots: that they pledge to support the Republican presidential nominee — and not run as a third-party candidate — in the general election.

The procedural moves are clearly aimed at Trump, who pointedly refused to rule out a third-party run during the first GOP debate.

They come amid Republican fears that the real estate mogul is gaining strength in the primary contest, and that his jeremiads against undocumented immigrants will alienate Hispanic voters. Despite coming under a hail of criticism in recent weeks, Trump has held steady atop state and national polls.

John Whitbeck, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, said the proposal was among many that the organization was considering as it sketches out its ballot access requirements for the 2016 GOP primary. The ultimate decision, he said, would be made by the 84 members who make up the state party’s central committee, which is slated to meet on Sept. 19. The requirements must be submitted to the Republican National Committee by Oct. 1.

If implemented, Whitbeck said, the provision would be similar to ones the party adopted for statewide races held in 2013 and 2014.

“It happens to be one of the things that we are discussing for the 2016 primary,” said Whitbeck, who expressed confidence that Trump would eventually commit to supporting the GOP nominee. He said the aim of the proposal is to unify the party and “isn’t about any single candidate.”

The Virginia proposal has earned the support of Ken Cuccinelli, the state’s former attorney general and 2013 gubernatorial nominee, who has been promoting the idea to members of the state party central committee. He has also been in touch with Whitbeck.

“Anybody who wants to seek the Republican nomination should have to commit to supporting the ultimate Republican nominee,” Cuccinelli said in a Monday interview. “I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

In an email sent after this story was published, Cuccinelli sought to clarify his feelings about the billionaire businessman. “Donald Trump is an important candidate in the race for the White House and I don’t think he or anyone else should be blocked from running as a Republican,” he said.

“But,” he added, “once the primary is over, that’s it.” Cuccinelli also noted that Virginia’s existing “sore-loser law” would prevent any candidate who lost a primary from mounting a third-party bid afterwards.

In North Carolina, Republican Party officials are considering a similar move, and are already in talks with lawyers about how best to implement it.

The topic recently came up during a meeting of state party staffers and is expected to be discussed more extensively on conference calls during the coming weeks. One state party official said a lawyer would soon be drafting language for a provision asking each candidate to support the nominee.

A final decision is expected to be made by the party next month ahead of the Oct 1. deadline.

“Everything is on the table,” the official said.

In both states, organizers said, the goal was the same — to compel Trump, who has cultivated a passionate following of conservative supporters, into offering his full support to the party.

Any moves to tie Trump’s hands, though, could infuriate the mercurial billionaire, who has warned that he could bolt the party if GOP leaders treat him unfairly. On Tuesday morning, Roger Stone, a longtime former Trump strategist, wrote on Twitter that the state party effort would backfire. “The kind of thing that could make @realDonaldTrump bolt the GOP and run 3rd party or Indy,” he said.

A Trump spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, declined to comment.

Those involved in the push said the two states are operating independently of one another, and of the Republican National Committee, which has little say over how state parties determine who gets on their primary ballots. To a large degree, the national party has found its hands tied when it has come to dealing with Trump.

“Ballot access usually is regarded as party function,” said Tom Josefiak, a former RNC chief counsel. “It definitely would be left up to the state party to decide how it’s going to operate.”

Gwenda Blair is author of The Trumps: Three Generations That Built an Empire. An e-book edition of her book Donald Trump: Master Apprentice, is forthcoming from Simon & Schuster.

Cuccinelli

Who gives a *** what this guy thinks?

He belongs in prison along with McDonnell.

ftfy

But McDonnell is already behind bars.

The GOP is going to step in it SO HARD!

How do you trump will play out?

Serious question. How do you trump will play out?

I don't think you correctly estimate how loud trump can be. Not as in loudmouth, but as in reaching and connecting to people. If it were most any other candidate I would have serious concerns about a media onslaught once it becomes crunch time, but if there's one candidate who could speak louder and reach more people than the media it's trump.

legal bribery

Define.