Trump, Still and Ever a Loose Cannon

Trump’s nomination acceptance speech was relatively presidential, but the very next day, Trump became the usual Trump again, responding at great length to Ted Cruz’s non-endorsement, proving all over again just how petty, thin-skinned, and vindictive he is to the world-at-large.

Trying to get Trump under control is a major problem for his handlers.

Right before the big acceptance speech, there was fear in professional GOP circles about what might happen:

When Donald Trump takes the stage in primetime tonight to deliver his acceptance speech, he’ll have an opportunity to reach undecided voters. “Trump, for most of them, is not even on their menu right now,” said Mike Murphy, a Republican political consultant. But Murphy isn’t hopeful that Trump can seize the moment, despite his speechwriters’ best efforts:

It’s like being Charlie Manson’s foxtrot instructor. You go out there, you teach him a few moves, and you think, ‘Hey, look at that, he can learn the foxtrot.’ And the next thing you know, he’s trying to put a pen in your eye, because he’s Charlie Manson.

Murphy spoke on an Atlantic panel at the Republican convention in Cleveland, moderated by Ron Brownstein and Major Garrett of CBS News. The panelists agreed, in broad terms, on the challenge now facing Trump.