When This Blows Over

Donald Trump’s rapid ascendency to the top of the Republican polls—and
the blinding media spotlight surrounding him that has rendered all other
2016 contenders seemingly mute—has baffled nearly every observer. Even
his longtime friends (and enemies) are fascinated. When I reached him this
week on vacation, Las Vegas developer mogul Steve Wynn, who has
been on both the enemies and the friend’s side of that equation with
Trump, said simply, “I am as mystified about it as you are.” As he
continued, “It certainly is a spectacular and perverse moment in
political history. There’s no precedent for this.”
“What I am certain of,” the gaming mogul averred, “is that when you and I
have this conversation next year, we will both agree unequivocally how
convoluted and how mercurial the events of the world are. Neither one of
us will have ever predicted the political environment of America [a year
from now] as surely as I know my own name.” Added Wynn, “Intervening
events will be dramatic and unpredictable. That’s the kind of world we’re
living in.” The Trump boomlet, too, Wynn insisted, shall pass.
But how it shall pass is a serious point of debate among campaign
observers. With some help from POLITICO MAGAZINE, Wynn’s challenge was
put to top political thinkers: how does Trump’s unprecedented campaign
end? Will Trump fizzle out soon, or endure for months? Will he succumb to
pressure from the RNC, the GOP establishment and other candidates? Or
only earn more attention as the race drags on? And is Trump ever truly
“done”—or would he jump back into the race as a third-party candidate?
“Maybe people will get tired of me,” Trump mused Friday in an interview
with Morning Joe. Or perhaps they won’t. *Below appear the best
*predictions collected from the respondents who dared speculate
*about how The Donald’s spectacular rise ends* – Jon Ralston,
POLITICO MAGAZINE contributing editor.
By Bob Shrum, Democratic presidential strategist.
Trump is ripe for a Bentsen-Quayle moment in the first debate. Bush,
Rubio, et al—no longer reticent in the face of Trump’s pandering to the
basest elements of the base, the “crazies”—are preparing the putdown
right now. The question is who gets the right opening first.