The Week They Decided Donald Trump Was Crazy: He inflicts one wound after another on his campaign. By Peggy Noonan. Trump has lost a lot of ground in the polls recently:
The trends for Donald Trump are not good, and he tends not to change.
All the damage done to him this week was self-inflicted. … We have in seven days witnessed his undignified and ungrateful reaction to a Gold Star family; the odd moment with the crying baby; the one-on-one interviews, which are starting to look like something he does in the grip of a compulsion, in which Mr. Trump expresses himself thoughtlessly, carelessly, on such issues as Russia, Ukraine and sexual harassment; the relitigating of his vulgar Megyn Kelly comments from a year ago; and, as his fortunes fell, his statement that he “would not be surprised” if the November election were “rigged.” Subject to an unprecedented assault by a sitting president who called him intellectually and characterologically unfit for the presidency, Mr Trump fired back — at Paul Ryan and John McCain.
The mad scatterbrained-ness of it was captured in a Washington Post interview with Philip Rucker in which five times by my count … Mr. Trump departed the meat of the interview to turn his head and stare at the television. On seeing himself on the screen: “Lot of energy. We got a lot of energy.” Minutes later: “Look at this. It’s all Trump all day long. That’s why their ratings are through the roof.” He’s all about screens, like a toddler hooked on iPad. …
Here is a truth of life. When you act as if you’re insane, people are liable to think you’re insane. That’s what happened this week. People started to become convinced he was nuts, a total flake. …
This is what became obvious, probably fatally so: Mr. Trump is not going to get serious about running for president. He does not have a second act, there are no hidden depths, there will be no “pivot.” It is not that he is willful or stubborn, though he may be, it’s that he doesn’t have the skill set needed now—discretion, carefulness, generosity, judgment. There’s a clueless quality about him. It’s not that he doesn’t get advice; it’s that he can’t hear advice, can’t process it or turn it into action. …
Donald Trump is said to be in love with the idea of success, dividing the world between winners and losers. But he just won big and couldn’t take yes for an answer. He got it all, was the unique outsider who shocked the entire political class with his rise. He should be the happiest man in the world, not besieged and full of complaint. …
[A]nti-Trump Republicans treat his voters like immoral enablers of a malignant boob. Should Mr. Trump lose decisively in November they’ll lord it over everyone, say “I told you so,” and accept what they imagine will be forelock-tugging apologies. Then they will get to work burying not only Mr. Trump but his issues.
On the other hand, is the political and media class kidding itself again? Lion of the Blogosphere thinks so, suggesting a bet against Trump dropping out:
Easy money on Predictit.org. Invest $92, win $8 on September 1st. The people on the other side of this transaction are taking too seriously MSM articles trying to discredit Trump because the MSM hates him so much. The MSM has been saying since last summer that Trump is about to drop out, but no one is going to drop out when they are 95 days from possibly becoming the next President of the United States. Trump knows that he’s only one ISIS attack [or Wikileaks revelation, etc.] away from rocketing to the lead in the polls again.
Meanwhile Trump’s rallies are full and enthusiastic, while Clinton has difficulty raising a large crowd.
