In late April of 2016 Ted Cruz was the last man standing between Trump and the Republican nomination (Kasich doesn’t count). Indiana’s primary was on May 3rd, and Cruz had the support of Governor Mike Pence, and everyone else who was serious about stopping the front runner. It was tight, and if Cruz won there, he could still see a path to the nomination.
On April 29, Trump came to San Mateo to speak to the California Republican Party Convention. This set off serious street riots the night before in some Mexican-American parts of LA, and protesters blocked Trump from reaching the site of the convention. Trump was forced to exit his vehicle by the side of the freeway, and climb across a guard rail to get to the back entrance of the venue.
It was all great TV, and four days later Trump beat Cruz in Indiana 53-38, and took all 57 delegates. He knew exactly what he was doing, and clinched the nomination by that trip to California.
Black Lives Matter, La Raza, the LGBT crowd and the rest of the hard left are Trump’s best political allies. People in the heartland think they’re all crazy, and when they rally against Trump they help him, politically, in places like PA-18 and Indiana.
That’s why Trump makes his first Presidential visit to California on the very day voters in PA-18 are deciding if they should show him their support by voting for Saccone. He knows precisely what he’s doing. The tariff announcement and the trip to California are timed for this election. If Trump pulls it off, we’ll see a late surge of voting tomporrow right before the polls close. These people will be deciding at the last minute to send a message to the protesters by voting for Trump’s guy.
Politics is sales, and the candidate is the product. Trump is a pro at this, and Cruz and all the rest were amateurs. He’s been in the self promotion business his whole life, and he’s a very smart and determined man.
Looking back, it finally makes sense to me how he won. Trump is a brand, but all candidates for President are a brand. The Bush brand was discredited, and Cruz and all the others were new brands, trying to sell themselves to the voters. Trump’s a better salesman, making him a better politician.
His rally in PA-18 Saturday was a masterpiece. I’m a serious student of American history and politics, and there have never been anything like these rallies. It’s performance art. He’s baring his soul to these crowds, and they eat it up. “I love you,” he told them, “I love you.” I’ve never seen a politician do that before, and it worked.
Imagine Donald Trump selling Article V and the BBA. We’d get to 34 states in a flash. If Larry Kudlow is his new economic adviser that’s very good news. Kudlow would be in a position to pitch this to the President, and I’m confident we can get to Kudlow to make the “ask”.
Trump’s not ready to hear this pitch right now. The time to approach him will be after the elections in November. If we can’t sell it to him then, I’ll be surprised.
RIP State Representative Hal Wick of South Dakota. He spent 30 years trying to get the BBA Resolution through the South Dakota legislature, and finally succeeded a couple years ago. It’s because of patriots like Hal, all across the country, that we’ve got 28 states right now. He was one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.
reaganproject.com 