A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Nomination: Trump Isn't a Republican.

Face it, who the hell knows what Trump is. Trump is Trump. He'll run like a conservative, but if elected he'd govern like, uh, who knows?

Not a good look, but, face it, who cares?

I have no great insight to add here, other than, holy shit, we might have to get used to this dude. I could call him a joke, a bombast, a screwball, a narcissist, a clown, and so on, but he's still The Donald and is currently the odds-on favorite to win the GOP nomination. Yikes! Here's hoping a Democrat can tame him in the general.

But here's something that doesn't seem to worry the Republican base: There's no evidence that Trump is or ever has been a Republican. In the past, he's come off as pragmatist, get it done, make a deal, sweeten the pot, take your slice, and move on sort of human being, narcissism aside.

Abortion? I dunno, some people need abortion, okay? Contraception? For sure. Death penalty? Guy had it comin'. Religion? Yeah, I go to church sometimes and get my little wafer. Taxes? Someone's got to pay, I mean, we need government, services, cops, whatever. Yeah, and defense. Medicare? It's good, right? Social Security? I won't need it, but, hell, poor people do, so, what the hell? Iraq? Maybe, but, boy, did Bush screw that up. And I'm pretty sure he lied, I mean everybody thought so, right? Gays? I'm not gay, so whatever. People are people. Get over it. I liked Truman Capote, what a nut, and he was gay, so...

This is where he was coming from, flying around in his jets, and buying and selling and going corporate-bankrupt from time to time. And he was dealing, whether or not he was actually good at it.

I'm pretty sure he means it about Mexicans and Muslims, though.

Still, he just isn't a Republican. You got a problem with that? I don't, but I'm a little surprised that Republicans apparently don't.

Nothing more to add except to point to Digby's astute Salon piece:

Over and over again, when asked to explain what they like about him, Trump supporters exclaim, “He knows what I’m thinking!” And what these people are thinking is that he’s making it safe for them to be “politically incorrect” again, giving sanction to publicly express their resentment toward people who don’t look and act like them. There are certainly reasons why these voters feel that way, but they are not due to populist anger toward the 1 percent. After all, the man they are cheering on with such enthusiasm is a man who spends half his time on the stump bragging about his vast wealth and explaining that it’s perfectly normal for businessmen like himself to bribe and cajole politicians to do his bidding. He’s never promised to change that system, not once. And his fans have never once asked him to.

 Repeat after me: President Donald Trump, President Donald Trump...