Push Trump aside for Pence: Wall Street Journal

Donald Trump should be pushed aside if he can’t get his act together by Labor Day (Sept 5), a Wall Street Journal editorial says.

Labor Day is traditionally considered the start of the final phase a US presidential campaign.

The Journal's staunchly conservative editorial board says leading Republicans who have Mr Trump’s ear – such as Chris Christie, Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani – need to come through on their promise that their man could rise to the occasion. It adds:

“If they can’t get Mr. Trump to change his act by Labor Day, the GOP will have no choice but to write off the nominee as hopeless and focus on salvaging the Senate and House and other down-ballot races. As for Mr. Trump, he needs to stop blaming everyone else and decide if he wants to behave like someone who wants to be President — or turn the nomination over to [running mate] Mike Pence.”

The Rupert Murdoch-owned Journal also has little time for Mr Trump blaming the press for his poor poll numbers, saying

"Mr Trump is right that most of the media want him to lose but then that was also true of George W Bush, George HW Bush and Ronald Reagan. It’s true of every Republican presidential nominee. The difference is that Mr Trump has made it so easy for the media and his opponents. … He should make the election a referendum on Hillary Clinton, not on himself."

"A half hour, even"
Beyond wanting their candidate to stay on message, Trump campaign insiders “want him to spend a little time each day – a half hour even – studying the issues he’ll need to understand if he becomes President," the Journal says.

It adds, “Is that so hard? Apparently so. Mr Trump prefers to watch the cable shows rather than read a briefing paper.”

NBR is not sure about the Journal's plan.

Mr Pence has received favourable notices for efforts to help smooth over internal rifts and clean up his running mate's more colourful comments. However, the low-key social conservative has little national profile, and any effort to install him as the Republican's presidential candidate would likely see hardcore Trump supporters stay at home on election day.

POSTSCRIPT

Trump has blamed a "disgusting and corrupt media" for his poll numbers.

The Atlantic's take:

Long addicted to media attention, Donald Trump is like strung-out junkie, blaming heroin for his fall.

He will never recover, because he will never fault himself.

The self-professed billionaire and serial bankruptcy filer built his career on a singular strength: an ability to manipulate the media to project his fairy tale self-image. Never as rich or as smart or as powerful or as respected or (God forbid) as sexual as he projected himself to be, Trump now bashes the industry that made him rather than face the truth.

Like the hero of a Greek tragedy, his strength becomes his undoing.