I respect Donald J. Trump as an entrepreneur and recognize his strengths; he’s a great start up guy. Trump has had a successful business career by mostly dreaming big, convincing investors/lenders to back up his big dreams, then litigating his long-term equity position after he has to cede control to investors/lenders.
Fortunately, business rewards those dreamers for their vision, even when they miss the mark. Politics does not.
The Trump Presidential campaign took off like a glamorous Atlantic City casino–spires rising amidst an ash heap of neglect. Trump reminded Republicans that they have capitulated to Democrats on core principles: immigration, fiscal responsibility, a sane foreign policy, and a concern for working Americans. He should be lauded for that. But like those glorious, unsustainable casinos, Donald Trump has run out of capital. Trump has run out of political capital and, like his past business ventures, he is likely to litigate the rules in hopes of retaining political “equity”.
It is more likely today, than it was last week, that Donald Trump will fail to “close the deal”; he won’t win the required 1237 delegates, to secure the Republican nomination before the convention. It is more likely that he will lose the nomination, at the RNC convention, because his organizational skills are subordinate to his dreaming skills.
Donald Trump is in familiar territory now— fighting to retain some kind of equity. He punches hard and loud, tries to change the rules, and demonizes those who would erode his equity.
Trump’s end game is always to negotiate the exit strategy– equity for abandonment. The Cruz campaign would do well to start thinking about what sort of equity position it is willing to cede to Trump and avoid the messy, litigious predicament Trump loves.