Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

VIDEO GOP Operatives Are Starting to Freak Out as Much as the Rest of Us About the Idea of President Donald Trump

A growing number of Republicans are expressing doubt in their party's nominee.

In the past 24 hours, Donald Trump has left many wondering whether he even still wants to be president. Judging by what has come out of his mouth in just one day, it’s becoming harder to tell.

Follow Ali Vitali ✔ @alivitali This rundown of the past 24 hours in Trump from @chucktodd and @CarrieNBCNews is...something. #FirstRead 8:55 AM - 3 Aug 2016 711 711 Retweets 608 608 likes

Of course, you could argue this has been Trump’s strategy from the start. His stream-of-garbage/consciousness style has gotten him this far, so why would he stop now? Yet barely two weeks after nominating Trump, a growing number of Republicans are beginning to consider what might happen if he were just ...to quit.

This is according to Jon Karl, the chief White House correspondent for ABC News, who reported this morning that Republican officials have begun planning for this “absolutely unprecedented” outcome.

“First of all, I am told RNC chairman Reince Priebus is furious, that he has had multiple discussions with Trump telling him he needs to drastically change course,” said Karl. “But here’s the news: I am told that senior officials at the party are actively exploring what would happen if Trump dropped out, how to replace him on the ballot.”

Unfortunately, such an outcome could only happen if Trump voluntarily dropped out of the race. If this were to occur, continued Karl, a “complicated process” would follow whereby the 168 members of the RNC could choose a new candidate. This would ”have to happen by early September.”

In other words, the Republicans have a month to try to force Trump’s hand. Just this week, both Meg Whitman (finance chair to Chris Christie’s presidential campaign) and Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY) have said they are voting for Hillary Clinton. Paul Ryan, John McCain and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have also come out against Trump, though they’ve maintained their endorsements of him.

“He is so unpredictable right now,” said Karl on the feelings within the Republican Party. “They are so unable to control his message, that they just don’t know and clearly think it is a possibility, which is why they’re looking at these rules.”

This is all, of course, wishful thinking because ... well, Donald Trump. “Even if people don’t like me, they have to vote for me. They have no choice,” Trump said Tuesday to a group of supporters in Ashburn, Virginia. He added, “Even if you can’t stand Donald Trump, you think Donald Trump is the worst, you’re going to vote for me.”

Despite Trump’s insurmountable narcissism, if he does continue on his current trajectory the chances are increasingly likely he’ll lose come November. FiveThirtyEight’s election forecast shows that in the past week Clinton has risen from being the underdog to having a 68 percent likelihood of winning.

Which comes as a relief after what Trump enabler Joe Scarborough revealed on his 'Morning Joe' show earlier today.

Follow Morning Joe ✔ @Morning_Joe

Watch: What are some major concerns about Trump's handling of national security? Hayden and #morningjoe weigh in. 6:51 AM - 3 Aug 2016 4,002 4,002 Retweets 3,678 3,678 likes Watch the full ABC interview with Jon Karl below.

Robin Scher is a freelance writer from South Africa currently based in New York. He tweets infrequently @RobScherHimself.