The Unshackling of Donald Trump

Rick Klein: “Unshackled Trump is a dangerous thing – to his own party perhaps more than anything else. Donald Trump has responded to the rebellion inside the GOP by lashing back at those who are expressing concerns about his candidacy, blasting “weak and ineffective” Republican office-holders. This list includes, in his telling, House Speaker Paul Ryan (whom he’s not sure should stay in the job) and Sen. John McCain (who is fighting to keep his job in the complex storm Trump stirred up). Trump also released an ad so over-the-top that ‘SNL’ would have trouble beating it, featuring a coughing and stumbling Hillary Clinton.”

“Trump has always felt he wasn’t getting the respect he deserved for winning the primaries from members from Republican insiders. But his very Trumpian response to the latest developments threatens to narrow, not broaden, his appeal. This is a campaign, and now an entire political party, that’s in the process of melting down. Trump’s campaign is adding heat to that mix.”