Republican Delegate Describes Donald Trump As ‘Incoherent,’ Says GOP Is Preparing For A Contested Convention
Few people mince words when discussing their opinions of Donald Trump. As a celebrity and businessman, Trump enjoyed the support of legions of enthusiastic fans. But as a politician, Donald Trump has effectively polarized the world of American politics, even raising the hackles of stalwarts of his own party. Indeed, some Republicans are now coming to the realization that their own reservations about Trump’s viability in a general election will come into play when the GOP formally decides upon their nominee for president later this summer.
According to a report by ABC News, Henry Barbour, a Republican delegate from Mississippi, is the most recent influential member of the Republican National Committee to publicly express concern that Donald Trump is too divisive and confusing to represent the GOP against a Democratic contender.
“It’s problematic. At times [Trump] is incoherent. That’s a real problem and I think that’s an advantage for Cruz, because everybody knows where Cruz stands,” Barbour said during a podcast interview quoted by ABC News. “Trump has really tapped into voters who are dissatisfied with the status quo and are really concerned about the country, and they are like, you know what, we need somebody that’s bold who’s gonna be strong. Whether he really is that way — I haven’t a clue.”
As noted by The Green Papers, the Mississippi State Republican Convention will be held on May 13 and May 14. Data archived by Real Clear Politics indicate that Donald Trump won the Mississippi Republican primary on March 8 with 47 percent of the vote versus the 36 percent earned by Ted Cruz. Trump is expected to gain 25 delegates from Mississippi and Cruz will pick up 15.
In the above-noted interview, Henry Barbour advised that Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are the only candidates who will receive bound delegates through that event. But bound delegates will only be required to vote for their respective candidates on a first ballot at the convention and according to Barbour, Republicans are preparing in earnest for a floor fight when no candidate reaches 1,237 delegates in the first round of voting.
Indeed, the Republican National Committee recently wrapped their annual spring meeting, which was the final gathering of GOP brass before the national party convention. CNN noted that the three-day event included debate over whether or not Donald Trump should emerge as the party’s standard-bearer when the dust settles. While Ted Cruz and John Kasich made personal appeals to party members and delegates, Donald Trump sent representatives to the event to state his case to the party elite.
It likely behooves Donald Trump to stay on the best terms possible with Republicans at the end of the day, as some individuals remain skeptical that he will be successful even if he hits the so-called “magic number” of 1,237 delegates before the opening gavel of the Republican National Convention. Curly Haugland, an unbound Republican delegate from North Dakota, reminded CNBC pundits that matters regarding unbound delegates and other challenges are yet to be resolved, adding that the only official votes from delegate are cast from the convention floor.
“You become the presumptive nominee when you get 1,237 bound delegates,” said RNC spokesman Lindsay Walters in a subsequent interview with CNBC. “You officially become nominee when you have 1,237 votes on the floor of the convention.”
Donald Trump has publicly bemoaned the Republican Party’s nomination process in recent months, calling the system “corrupt” and “rigged.” While party chairman Reince Priebus has publicly refuted the candidate’s claims, the Trump campaign has not ruled out a number of options in which the results of the process could be challenged should Donald Trump fail to win the nomination.
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