Trumpster Diving

* Imagine, a major national newspaper urging Donald Trump–in mid-August–to fix his devolving, demeaning 2016 campaign right away or step down. Let Mike Pence at least look and sound the part.

And imagine, that paper is the Wall Street Journal, not exactly a huckster for Hillary Clinton or the pulpit for all things progressive. Its understated rationale: “Mr. Trump has alienated his party and he isn’t running a competent campaign.”

For the WSJ, that’s tantamount to panic over the prospect of a down-ballot disaster. It wants to see the GOP nominee actually go after relevant, viable issues in presidential-candidate fashion and stop making the race a referendum on himself. A cavalier approach to the truth and primary optics that work for a mob whisperer are no longer acceptable, let alone helpful.

* It should be apparent–and, yes, the scorpion metaphor remains spot on–that Trump will not change his modus operandi, even as he undergoes teleprompter remediation. He lacks the discipline to stay on a politically savvy script for long. Paul Manafort may help write it, but its rendering will at some point seem like an absurdist nod to Eugene Ionesco.

Trump is a brand candidate, and his pugnacious, nativist brand has to do with what he says as well as how he says it. They can’t be separated. To Trump, bar stool quips are still grist for his general election mill.

* How ironic that Trump blames the “disgusting and corrupt media” for his descending poll numbers. Hell, the media made him. He has long been great, if inconsequential, copy: from flamboyant rich guy to Apprentice celebrity to outlandishly arrogant candidate. Now the media “low life” that enabled his unlikely ascent to presidential-nominee status are simply reporting what he says and what its implications might be–before he can semi-walk it back as “sarcasm” or a joke gone bad.

You don’t, for example, throw red-meat, wink-and-nod assassination asides out there and assume no rank-and-file, Second Amendment firebrand will miss the “humorous” intent. The Secret Service, as we know, wasn’t amused.

* How does Rudy Giuliani go from “America’s mayor” to Trump’s pimp?

* Here’s a two-part prediction that I hope will never be tested. If there is a President Trump, it’s likely because there was a serious terrorist incident too close to election day, and a panicked electorate overreacted. If so, watch for rentals of “Seven Days in May” to soar.

* Key question: Will HBO have its Trump Campaign series out before inauguration day?

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