POINT-COUNTERPOINT: Will Trump drop out? Should he? [View all]

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(A mindmeld of party insiders and operatives, campaign sources and students of Donald Trump.)

--Why he will: It’s been four consecutive days of utterly disastrous press. There’s staff turnover in key swing states and reports of dissension at the highest ranks of the campaign. Prominent Republicans are announcing they’ll vote for Hillary, the battleground map is shrinking rapidly, he’s being badly outspent over the airwaves and there’s talk of a situation so dire that an intervention from some of the GOP’s top figures is in the works.

If Trump’s trajectory doesn’t change dramatically -- and quickly -- the race is cooked. And once he concludes the election is unwinnable, why would he stay in? He has no allegiance to the GOP and won’t lose any sleep over what happens down-ballot. Keep in mind: He didn’t become a billionaire by throwing good money after bad.

The only question, then, is how to get out and save face. He’s already laid down a foundation for his exit -- he’s now asserting the race is already rigged for Hillary Clinton. The next step? Throwing Reince Priebus under the bus and claiming that BOTH major parties are conspiring to keep him from winning.The exit scenario isn’t that far-fetched. Lots of folks, in fact, are already thinking it. Here’s the top trending question on Google yesterday: “Is Trump dropping out of the elections?”

--Why he won’t: Trump knows this better than anyone: The news cycle is so incredibly sped-up that any one of his scandals can fade to background noise with a savvy media play. For example: We all spent yesterday talking about his non-endorsement of Paul Ryan and John McCain, not his continuing war with the Khan family.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/playbook/2016/08/trump-getting-trounced-in-mich-nh-pa-point-counterpoint-will-trump-drop-out-steve-latourette-dead-at-62-playbook-interview-ben-smith-bday-potus-is-55-215688#ixzz4GN04nawR
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