Trump's cries of 'rigged' system shift blame for his losses

By JILL COLVIN 24 April 2016, 12:00AM

Donald Trump keeps hammering away at Republican insiders even as campaign aides are gingerly courting those same officials.

"The system is all rigged," Trump said Friday at a Delaware rally as he looked ahead to the state's primary on Tuesday. "That's why we have to win big. That's why on Tuesday, everyone has to go out and vote. We have to win big because the system is rigged."

It may seem counterproductive, but Trump's foot-stomping has served as a rallying cry to boost turnout and reinforce his appeal to voters who feel disenfranchised. The "rigged" system argument is a convenient scapegoat, shifting the blame for any future potential losses and lost delegates away from a campaign that has been outmaneuvered despite its front-runner status.

Trump has won more states than his rivals, yet his team has been badly outplayed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in ensuring that supportive delegates make it to the Republican national  convention in July in Cleveland.

Pennsylvania, one of five northeastern states voting Tuesday, has an especially confusing delegate system.

The primary winner will emerge with 17 delegates. But 54 delegates can vote for whomever they want. The ballot will feature 162 potential delegates, but it will offer no information about whom they support. That means voters who haven't consulted with the campaigns about their rosters will be in the dark.

Trump's argument would only grow stronger if he were to win the majority of votes in Pennsylvania — opinion surveys show him with a significant lead — yet emerge with fewer delegates than Cruz.

Cruz's strategy is to force a contested convention by denying Trump the 1,237 delegates needed to win the nomination outright on the first ballot at the convention. The Texas senator then hopes he can win the nomination on subsequent ballots when more and more delegates are freed to vote for the candidate of their choice.

Trump has been relentless in his criticism of the delegate system, slamming party "bosses" and calling out the Republican National Committee and its chairman, Reince Priebus.

Bu earlier in the week, at a Florida resort where Republican officials gathered to discuss the presidential nominating process, Trump campaign aide Paul Manafort brushed off the idea that Trump's rhetoric was making it more difficult to build bridges with party leaders.

"What he's slamming is the system. He's saying the system is rigged. And the system is rigged. It's rigged in all 50 states where they have different rules and ... don't take into account modern presidential campaigns," Manafort said.

Manafort added that Trump wanted to work with Priebus to change the system for the next election. "That's where things are getting confused," he said. "He's saying we've got to change rules so the next time, when people vote, their vote counts."

Nonetheless, frustration with Trump's attacks on the RNC and the integrity of the nomination process were widespread at the party meeting in Hollywood, Florida, even as Trump's team was trying to make amends.

In a private meeting Thursday with Republican officials, Manafort tried to assure them that Trump was on their side and prepared to fundraise for the party. He stressed that the candidate had had some "very good" conversations with Priebus and said the campaign hoped to work closely with state leaders to build its general election campaign.

In Delaware, Trump's supporters said the billionaire is right to be angry at the delegate process.

"It's not democratic," said Paul Eugstenberg, 72, a retired pilot from Dover. "This should be decided by the voters. It should not be decided at the convention. They have to fix this. This is not how this should work."

Some suggested that if Trump were leading the delegate race going into the convention only to have someone else nominated, it would make them consider staying home in November instead of voting for the Republican nominee.

"If this is taken from Mr. Trump, it would destroy the Republican Party," said Debbie Patty, a retired teacher from Greenwood. "People would think their vote doesn't count and that the party doesn't care about them."

"I would never vote for a Democrat, but I'm not sure I could vote for a Republican in that scenario, either," Patty said. "That means not voting at all, and I hate that idea. But it might be what I have to do."

-AP

By JILL COLVIN 24 April 2016, 12:00AM
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