Was Trump's motive all along simply to gain more publicity for himself?

[Lincoln Republican]

In running for the Republican Presidential nomination, was Trump's motive all along to gain more publicity for himself, not to actually win the nomination, but in the process, unexpectedly did win?

That could explain why the Republican campaign now lies in shambles, why party unity is a joke, and why there seems to be no sensible plan or ground game in place going forward or to win in November.

Please vote and comment should you wish.

[Fuzzy Bear]

He'd have found a way to call off the dogs a long time ago if that was the case.

So much of his campaign is based on "winning".  How much credibility would Trump have if he talked about "winning, winning, winning" and then bombed?  He intended to win, and he did win.  In a real way, he's proving the adage, "Nothing succeeds like success."

[Wells]

It definitely started that way, but he was the first to realize that he could actually win and decided to keep going until November.

[TomC]

Yes, and the money. He wants control of the money.

[Ljube]

In running for the Republican Presidential nomination, was Trump's motive all along to gain more publicity for himself, not to actually win the nomination, but in the process, unexpectedly did win?

That could explain why the Republican campaign now lies in shambles, why party unity is a joke, and why there seems to be no sensible plan or ground game in place going forward or to win in November.

Please vote and comment should you wish.

In the beginning, it probably was that.

But it became a real wish to win along the way.

[Virginiá]

I like to believe that he launched his campaign for this purpose while expecting it to ultimately go nowhere, but it didn't work out like that. I don't think Trump ever expected to win the nomination and I am still not convinced he truly wants to do the job. He probably wants the position/title but none of the responsibilities.

[Ljube]

I like to believe that he launched his campaign for this purpose while expecting it to ultimately go nowhere, but it didn't work out like that. I don't think Trump ever expected to win the nomination and I am still not convinced he truly wants to do the job. He probably wants the position/title but none of the responsibilities.

Nobody was more surprised than Trump when Cruz dropped out after Indiana.

[Hermit For Peace]

I like to believe that he launched his campaign for this purpose while expecting it to ultimately go nowhere, but it didn't work out like that. I don't think Trump ever expected to win the nomination and I am still not convinced he truly wants to do the job. He probably wants the position/title but none of the responsibilities.

I agree with this, especially the last sentence. His ego would love to have the title of President of the United States, but his temperament and other personal issues will have a hard time dealing with the actual reality of the job.

Plus, living in the WH would be a great step down from the lavishness he lives in now. That's gotta suck.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

He already received significant publicity before running for President. Additionally, the publicity that one gets from running is more like harassment than glorification, as everyone digs for skeletons in the closet.

I can easily imagine Trump getting bored/frustrated and resigning like Palin in the middle of his term. Given this, it will be very important who gets the VP slot.

Another interesting question: can we see Trump actually switching parties while President?

[Lincoln Republican]

He already received significant publicity before running for President. Additionally, the publicity that one gets from running is more like harassment than glorification, as everyone digs for skeletons in the closet.

I can easily imagine Trump getting bored/frustrated and resigning like Palin in the middle of his term. Given this, it will be very important who gets the VP slot.

Another interesting question: can we see Trump actually switching parties while President?

Well, for sure the Democrats would not want him.  So he would have to switch to the Reform, Libertarian, Constitution, or some other far out wing nut conglomeration.

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

Didn't someone in the campaign say that Trump never expected to get very far in the primary and expected Bush or someone else to smoke him, but then his ego fueled him once he saw a path to victory?

[Hammy]

Didn't someone in the campaign say that Trump never expected to get very far in the primary and expected Bush or someone else to smoke him, but then his ego fueled him once he saw a path to victory?

There were several posts early on and to be honest I'm starting to believe it myself at this point--it almost appears at times like he's going out of his way to lose.

[RaphaelDLG]

Is the pope Catholic?!?

[Ogre Mage]

There is speculation that the entire Trump Campaign is just a front to launch Trump TV -- a media operation catering to his bigoted, crazy devoted supporters. 

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/06/trump-campaign-a-scheme-to-launch-trump-tv.html#

[wolfsblood07]

I like to believe that he launched his campaign for this purpose while expecting it to ultimately go nowhere, but it didn't work out like that. I don't think Trump ever expected to win the nomination and I am still not convinced he truly wants to do the job. He probably wants the position/title but none of the responsibilities.

Nobody was more surprised than Trump when Cruz dropped out after Indiana.

You really think so?   To me it seemed like Cruz had no choice but to drop out at that point, as it was clearly hopeless.  Actually, let's be honest, when Trump beat Cruz in South Carolina back in February it was pretry much over for Cruz.  And te SEC Super Tuesday really confirmed it.  But at the time, the pundits kept stringing us along that Trump could not possibly win a majority of delegates. 

[Virginiá]

There is speculation that the entire Trump Campaign is just a front to launch Trump TV -- a media operation catering to his bigoted, crazy devoted supporters.  

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/06/trump-campaign-a-scheme-to-launch-trump-tv.html#

This idea really could only have become real after his campaign began to dominate this year. There is no way Trump could have known he was going to destroy a huge bench of GOP candidates and become the nominee, so he couldn't have really planned this scheme beforehand.

[Ebowed]

Well, it's obvious that his motive isn't guided by trying to make the country a better place or helping people.  This should have been obvious since the Birther movement- facts do not matter to this man.

No matter what, Trump wins* - he probably launches a TV channel or something where he can offer his bland "politically incorrect" viewpoint on a platform where people will actually fund it (though after this he'll be hard pressed to even find a decent number of advertisers willing to sully their reputations).

*Well, in the sense that he will always be oblivious to just how despised he is by his fellow people.

[RaphaelDLG]

There is speculation that the entire Trump Campaign is just a front to launch Trump TV -- a media operation catering to his bigoted, crazy devoted supporters.  

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/06/trump-campaign-a-scheme-to-launch-trump-tv.html#

This idea really could only have become real after his campaign began to dominate this year. There is no way Trump could have known he was going to destroy a huge bench of GOP candidates and become the nominee, so he couldn't have really planned this scheme beforehand.

IDK, loads of people (Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, George Pataki, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich) plan to campaign for President not expecting to do well or even to dominate (or trying hard to do so, for that matter), but simply looking for more exposure to later make money selling books or being on TV.

I think the leaked job application memo from a while back where he was looking to hire a communications director to get him to a strong second place indicates that this was just another step in a thirty year pattern of attempting to stoke press coverage (positive or negative) for financial gain.

I agree that maybe his vision for after the election got more ambitious as he discovered how easy attracting eyeballs was.

[Virginiá]

IDK, loads of people (Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, George Pataki, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich) plan to campaign for President not expecting to do well or even to dominate (or trying hard to do so, for that matter), but simply looking for more exposure to later make money selling books or being on TV.

I think the leaked job application memo from a while back where he was looking to hire a communications director to get him to a strong second place indicates that this was just another step in a thirty year pattern of attempting to stoke press coverage (positive or negative) for financial gain.

I agree that maybe his vision for after the election got more ambitious as he discovered how easy attracting eyeballs was.

Yeah, I suppose. I wonder if the racist tirades are actually part of his media empire plan. Could this be a possible home for a Stormfront-run news channel? "Stay tuned after this brief commercial break for a special edition of 60 minutes, with David Duke"

How interesting would that be if Trump ended up costing Republicans the White House and god knows how many downballot races just so he could start a media network that will probably go bankrupt in a couple years.

[RaphaelDLG]

IDK, loads of people (Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, George Pataki, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich) plan to campaign for President not expecting to do well or even to dominate (or trying hard to do so, for that matter), but simply looking for more exposure to later make money selling books or being on TV.

I think the leaked job application memo from a while back where he was looking to hire a communications director to get him to a strong second place indicates that this was just another step in a thirty year pattern of attempting to stoke press coverage (positive or negative) for financial gain.

I agree that maybe his vision for after the election got more ambitious as he discovered how easy attracting eyeballs was.

Yeah, I suppose. I wonder if the racist tirades are actually part of his media empire plan. Could this be a possible home for a Stormfront-run news channel? "Stay tuned after this brief commercial break for a special edition of 60 minutes, with David Duke"

How interesting would that be if Trump ended up costing Republicans the White House and god knows how many downballot races just so he could start a media network that will probably go bankrupt in a couple years.

I LOLed

[Ogre Mage]

IDK, loads of people (Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, George Pataki, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich) plan to campaign for President not expecting to do well or even to dominate (or trying hard to do so, for that matter), but simply looking for more exposure to later make money selling books or being on TV.

I think the leaked job application memo from a while back where he was looking to hire a communications director to get him to a strong second place indicates that this was just another step in a thirty year pattern of attempting to stoke press coverage (positive or negative) for financial gain.

I agree that maybe his vision for after the election got more ambitious as he discovered how easy attracting eyeballs was.

Yeah, I suppose. I wonder if the racist tirades are actually part of his media empire plan. Could this be a possible home for a Stormfront-run news channel? "Stay tuned after this brief commercial break for a special edition of 60 minutes, with David Duke"

How interesting would that be if Trump ended up costing Republicans the White House and god knows how many downballot races just so he could start a media network that will probably go bankrupt in a couple years.

I LOLed

Is he actually looking to start his own cable network, a la Oprah Winfrey and OWN?  My guess is that a lot of it would be turned into some sort of shopping channel to buy Trump products, with the other half being extreme wingnut "news" propaganda.  

"Pure white 1000 thread count Egyptian Cotton sheet sets -- exclusively available on the Trump Network for only $99.99."

[Sir Mohamed]

It was not the sole reason. I think Drumpf really wants to be prez.

[MK]

How could one want to give up trump tower or mar- a- Lago for some old dusty white house?      Ive always suspected it was a media attention campaign.    Which explains his anger over trump university.     

If the Gop has and shot maybe .. dump him at the convention.  I think his supporters could be convinced to go along with it if you found the right candidate/messager.  No Mitt isnt it nor Kasich.

[Curbstomp]

Trump applied to trademark "Make America Great Again" just after the 2012 election.

He's been planning to run since then, knowing Hillary was the obvious opponent he'd have to face.

Trump plays chess, his opponents play checkers, call him a racist, psychopath, Russian agent.

[wolfsblood07]

We're living through one of the strangest elections in history.  In both parties.