When I heard that Donald Trump had signed the Republican Nominee Loyalty Oath, my first thought was disappointment. I was so looking forward to him shattering the G.O.P. into tiny pieces if he ran as an Independent. But then I realized…
He's probably not going to do that anyway. Trump is only Trump when he can boast that he's the guy on top. He can't go three sentences on any subject without declaring himself a Winner and someone else as a Loser. He might be able to deliver an impressive showing as a third-party candidate but he sure wouldn't be a Winner.
I'm thinking that when the moment comes in his quest for the Republican nomination that he's finishing in second or third place consistently, he's going to need some semi-credible excuse for bailing on the race so he can get out and claim something like, "I had to tend to my businesses…and anyway, I got what I wanted. I proved to anyone with half a brain that I could have won."
And also, so what if he signed the pledge? It's not binding in any real way. All he has to do if he does want to renege on it is gin up some reason to charge that Reince Priebus and the Republican National Committee tried to screw him in some way. A lot of Trump's base would cheer him if he told the party to stick their pledge up their elephant ass and then he ran against them saying, "My first loyalty is to my supporters and to restoring America's greatness!"
So then I thought, "What did he get for signing?" Because Trump is a negotiator — a real relentless one, he always tells us. He's not going to do anything someone else wants unless he gets something in return.
Here's what I think he got: All those other guys — the Mike Huckabees and the Rand Pauls — are signing the same pledge which to him is a pledge to support nominee Donald Trump. Today on CNN, I saw Paul telling some reporter how unqualified Trump was and how he'd destroy both the Republican Party and the nation if he won.
But now Trump has solidified his position as a legit Republican candidate. Preibus came to him. The party hasn't said, "All the other candidates will support you if you modify some of your positions." Rand Paul has pledged to support Trump just as he is. They all have or will.
Oh sure, they could renege on the pledge just as he can but it'll be more difficult for them now that he's signed and agreed (for now) to play by their rules. I still don't think they'll have to renege because I don't think he'll be the nominee. He does, however, look more like a legitimate front-runner now that the party has kissed his heinie.
Imagine the next time Paul is telling interviews how unfit Trump is to be president and how he'd destroy the nation…and the interviewer asks, "Did you pledge to endorse him if he gets the nomination?" I'll bet Trump can field that question about supporting other candidates a lot better than any of them can about him.