Rove: Don't Treat Trump Differently, a Nominee Needs a Majority
Thursday, 24 Mar 2016 12:27 PM
GOP front-runner Donald Trump's "whining" demand that a plurality of delegates determine the winner of the party's presidential nod would defy a 160-year-old rule that Abraham Lincoln saw fit to abide by, political adviser Karl Rove argues.
In a commentary for The Wall Street Journal, the former deputy chief of staff for President George W. Bush dismisses Trump's claim the GOP convention rule mandating a candidate have a majority of delegates to win the nomination is an "artificial number."
"Decrying the use of what he called a 'very random number' is not just whining; it is a demand for radical change," Rove writes. "The rule that the Republican nominee must win a majority of the national convention has been in force for 160 years…"
Rove adds five Republican presidents, including Lincoln, trailed in the convention when voting began at their respective conventions.
"Mr. Trump should stop demanding to be treated differently than any GOP candidate before him, including Abraham Lincoln," Rove writes. "Rather than try to change the rules in the middle of the contest, he should focus on gaining the nomination outright by winning 55 percent of the remaining delegates."
"If he can't," Rove writes, "he must convince the convention that he is worthy of a majority. Given how badly he does in polls against Hillary Clinton, that may be difficult."
Rove notes Trump will likely fall short on the convention's first ballot "by only a handful of votes, 20 or so" and that he would then likely go on to become the nominee.
"But if he is down by a larger number, say 100 to 200, he could be in trouble," Rove writes, adding:
"Trump surely knows this, which is why he threatened 'riots' if he is denied the nomination," calling it "nonsense" to argue the effect would be to "'disenfranchise' his supporters."
"By the end of the primaries, most Republicans are likely to have voted for someone else," Rove writes. "Would giving Mr. Trump the nomination 'disenfranchise' them?"
In a commentary for The Wall Street Journal, the former deputy chief of staff for President George W. Bush dismisses Trump's claim the GOP convention rule mandating a candidate have a majority of delegates to win the nomination is an "artificial number."
Rove adds five Republican presidents, including Lincoln, trailed in the convention when voting began at their respective conventions.
"Mr. Trump should stop demanding to be treated differently than any GOP candidate before him, including Abraham Lincoln," Rove writes. "Rather than try to change the rules in the middle of the contest, he should focus on gaining the nomination outright by winning 55 percent of the remaining delegates."
Rove notes Trump will likely fall short on the convention's first ballot "by only a handful of votes, 20 or so" and that he would then likely go on to become the nominee.
"But if he is down by a larger number, say 100 to 200, he could be in trouble," Rove writes, adding:
"Trump surely knows this, which is why he threatened 'riots' if he is denied the nomination," calling it "nonsense" to argue the effect would be to "'disenfranchise' his supporters."
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- Buchanan: If Short on Delegates, Could See Trump Work With Competitors
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