So who thinks there is any truth to the rumor that at the GOP convention Trump will step down?

replace him, the new nominee doesn't have much time to launch a campaign between mid July and early Nov. IMO, Republicans don't want Trump any more than we do and have resigned themselves to losing the 2016 Presidential election. They will be lucky to hold the House and Senate.

They don't know how to stop Trump or control him and I don't know who they will find that will be willing to run as his VP (I'm hoping for Tom Cotton, since that would effectively end his career).

Every deal maker, especially one with such a spotted track record at Trump, is looking for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

My guess is that he's in much more dire financial straights than he lets on. Not dire is all relative and his hundred million or two would probably satiate the financial needs of virtually every American. But not Donald.

While he may have a couple hundred million in the bank, it's possible he's got a negative net worth. Remember the joke about Marla Maples and him walking past a homeless begger in NYC. Marla chuckled at the man's predicament and Donald said something like "don't laugh - his net worth is about 500 million better than our"...referencing the fact that he was in the hole on a lot of deals.

What if this is just a job to him. And the payoff is that his debts get washed out. Big R donors step into buy him out of crapshit projects at amazing prices, knowing that what they really bought was the circus of the primaries.

They hired a clown. He played his part. He got his paycheck. In the end, money trumps ego for him.

In 2012, when asked about Romney's shifting positions on a variety of issues, his campaign manager at the time (forget his name) said, in effect - elections are like an etch-a-sketch and convention time is when you turn it over and shake it up, creating an ideological "clean slate" for the candidate going forward. It was his was of saying that pandering to the base during the primaries with comments like the now infamous "47%" line shouldn't be held against the candidate during the general. The convention absolved them of their accountability for statements made during the primaries.

Fast forward to 2016. Having learned their lesson (that etch-a-sketch doesn't work in reality), imagine if the Republican's hired an actor to play the role of candidate during the primaries, test out messages, draw attention to the party...all with the intention of bringing in the real candidate in July. A real candidate who would ride in with the benefit of no pandering to the primary crowd, no hidden tapes, no quotes to drop into competitive advertising. Rather than having an etch-a-sketch moment, the party could simply have a "turn the page" moment and, in the process look rationale in the process because we've had 12 months to see what could have been with Trump.

Not saying it's likely but, if that were your plan, who would you find with a sufficiently large narcissistic streak, a willingness to play a part as long as he had first billing, no real interest in the accountability of the job, and the ineptitude to not realize it. To be that person would be the death of your political career...where could they find such a vapid soul.

Hmmmm...calling Donald Trump, paging Mr Trump.

Fantasy, I know. And in the end, it only changes who HRC hammers in the general. Trump because he's an asshat or Mr. NewCandidate because Trump's "base" was never in on the play. Either way, we'll be calling her Hilary to differentiate her 2 terms from Bill's, just like we used W vs. Poppy Bush.

he has no choice. I also believe that he must have some skeletons in his closet. If the Powers That Be really want a competitive General, they will see that Trump isn't the candidate. But maybe they are happy with the status quo.

he'll do it.

surprises me. His Character Makeup is that of a Narcissist Con Man Carnival Barker. The Guy is a phony as three dollar bill. Seem to be thrashing around to find some semblance of direction in the last month. With more and more stories about the Trump Empire having money problems,expect something to pop by the first of the month.

Trump has and is all about the money,it is just the make-up of a Con Man. Circle ones self with the best money Lawyers and just go for it.

he's always saying something or does something that just defies comprehension for any half serious candidate. I'm thinking the financial angle might be what it's really about.

We know people were dead broke after leaving office who became multi-millionaires in fairly short order. He was pretty close friends with some of those people, so there's that.