Will Trump run as an independent?

[Famous Mortimer]

He probably won't or if he does he will drop out long before the election. He will get very few votes as most Democrats would vote him and Republicans tend to be good at rallying around their eventual candidate. I know polls now show him doing well in hypothetical situations but once the Republicans have a nominee, that will be different.

[Crumpets]

Reince Priebus seems to be assured that Trump won't make a third party bid. Maybe Trump told him he won't run third party.

The way I see it, Trump seems to be unwilling to spend money to win. I don't think he is willing to spend $500 million+ to run as a third party candidate. I still hold that he'll be out before Iowa (or at least be irrelevant) and he won't make a third party run.

To be fair to the Donald, one of the things he is best at is tricking people in positions of power to give them what they want in the short-term only to screw them over in the long-term.

[Horsemask]

Ultimately, I don't think he will.

[heatmaster]

I think a few more debate performances, will put paid to that idea, particularly as folks wise up to the fact that he is one high octane idiot who's in the contest, because he's on a ego binge.

[Kingpoleon]

I voted no. If he did, he would either choose Ben Carson, Oprah Winfrey, or maybe Ted Weill. The last one would fit in best with his populist sympathies.

[Bojack Horseman]

Unlike Ross Perot who led a third-party movement and got people who wouldn't have voted to come out, Donald Trump has an ego the size of New York, which is really the only reason he's running. Same reason Newt Gingrich ran in 2012. So if he doesn't win the nomination, I have a feeling he just might run an independent campaign.

[Torie]

Why would Trump spend a lot of his own money (and he really does not have that much in liquid cash, maybe a few hundred million, maybe less, as opposed to what he claims is the value of his name brand, 3 billion, leveraged real estate, etc.), in order to assure Hillary is POTUS? I suspect Trump would have run before if he had more liquid cash. This time, he figured he had enough to generate some buzz, but certainly not enough to self fund a third party race.

[IronFist]

I think he shouldn't. Sure thing he is hated now by both Democratic and Republican establishment but he needs to stay with GOP until the end or he won't have any chance to win. Americans mostly support him but it will be really hard for him to get any votes as independent candidate. Trump has great charisma and agenda but he really needs to calm down a bit cause it won't end well for him.

[Fuzzy Bear]

I'm more convinced than ever that Trump will not run as an Independent.

I know why I'm voting for Trump.  I'm not confused about the man.  Trump does want SOMETHING out of all of this, and he's going to get it.  He's not stupid, and while he's got an ego, he's not undisciplined.  I firmly believe that whatever Trump wants, he has to be a Republican to get it.

[SteveRogers]

I'm more convinced than ever that Trump will not run as an Independent.

I know why I'm voting for Trump.  I'm not confused about the man.  Trump does want SOMETHING out of all of this, and he's going to get it.  He's not stupid, and while he's got an ego, he's not undisciplined.  I firmly believe that whatever Trump wants, he has to be a Republican to get it.

Wait, then why are you voting for Trump if you don't even know what Trump wants?

[BM]

It will be the greatest election of our lifetime if he does. Trump is such an elegant and classy guy!

[cwt]

Let's say it does happen, who will his running mate be?

Dennis Rodman.

He's already endorsed Trump. He has foreign policy experience with North Korea and could help win the black vote.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I highly doubt it.

[Suburbia]

Yes, I think Trump will run as an Independent, especially if the RNC treats him unfairly. If he runs as an independent, expect him to poll with 15%-25% in the polls, because there is a lot of Trump supporters who love him.

[Vosem]

I voted no. If he did, he would either choose Ben Carson, Oprah Winfrey, or maybe Ted Weill. The last one would fit in best with his populist sympathies.

Ted Weill died in 2009, so that can't work.

In answer to the thread question, I tend to doubt it; it would be expensive and he has to understand that he would lose. The threat of running as an independent makes Trump powerful; actually doing so would destroy any influence he's cobbled together within the GOP.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I'm becoming more convinced than ever that he has a deal with the Clintons. Like, this can't be real.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

If he doesn't,  he still will make it hard on the GOP nominee to win, especially if it is Jeb.