He made it pretty plain that he thinks the GOP is flirting with disaster, and blames first of all the Ryan Plan, pointing out the recent loss in the special election for the House seat of New York-26. That race saw a Democrat win a seat that has been a safe Republican seat for decades. The Republicans, according to Trump, have a death wish.
He further warned that if the GOP nominates a "stiff" he might run as an Independent. His meaning is clear enough. He plainly means Pawlenty or Romney, two of the biggest stiffs on the political landscape. Obviously New York Democrat Anthony Weiner doesn't count (sorry, couldn't resist).
At the same time, Trump seems to be impressed with Sarah Palin, who he says he likes, calling her a friend, and a patriot who loves America. It is starting to look as though the recent Pizza Summit between Palin and Trump in New York might have been a potential lead to a Palin endorsement by Trump. Trump stopped short of that last night on On The Record with Greta Van Sustern, but then again, he claims not to know whether Palin is running, saying he's pretty sure she hasn't yet decided.
It looks like Trump, if he does run, might well be the first person to openly run as a spoiler. Most people think that would hurt the GOP more than the Democrats, but I have to wonder about that. Most of Trumps votes would come from Independents, and maybe some moderate Democrats who are unsatisfied (if not outright disgusted) with how Obama has governed (for lack of a better word) thus far.
I just can't see conservative Republicans voting for Trump in any significant numbers should he mount an independent bid, even if the GOP does nominate a "stiff", or another RINO. What moderate Republicans might vote for him would probably be more than offset by Democrats, and by Independents who might ordinarily tend to vote Democrat if they are unsatisfied with the GOP nominee, or who already lean towards the Democrats regardless.
Ironically, since Palin has low approval ratings among Independents, a third-party Trump candidacy might actually help her if she received the nomination, unless she manages to improve her numbers.
