Trump doesn't want to be President

First of all, I hate writing about Trump. I think he is obnoxious just to get attention, and even the smallest amount of publicity would only serve to encourage him.

Donald Trump has said so many shocking things over the past month that at first I didn't think the 2005 Billy Bush Bus video was any more of a big deal than any of the other nonsense that he says. I finally got around to watching the video.

I have heard people say worse things than that, but none of those people ever plan on running for President. The people that I know who do want to serve in elected office some day try to manage their tone. This particular video was more than Trump saying the word "pussy". He was bragging about being able to grope women without any consequences. We can't prove that he was boasting about something he actually did. But for him to say things that imply he is a sexual predator who hides behind fame and wealth like Bill Cosby suggests that in 2005, a political career was the furthest thing from Trump's mind.

If I was advising Trump on his campaign, I would advised him to admit to the video early on back in 2015 and get it out of the way. Just say the whole thing was an incredibly bad joke and try to move on. If it cost him the primary, it would have saved him the trouble of a failed general election campaign. But voters have notoriously short memories, and this video could have been forgotten by now. I will never get involved in the campaign of a candidate who is as toxic as Trump.

Here is the thing that every political operative knows: if there is pictures, audio, or video of a presidential candidate, you have to assume that the opposition will find it. If they find it, they will leak it at a time that serves their purposes. I don't think it's a coincidence that the story about this 2005 video suddenly broke in early October. Just enough time to get the word out, and stay fresh in the minds of voters.

Trump knew this video was out there, and failed to mention it to his GOP handlers. If Karl Rove were advising Trump and Trump actually followed Rove's advice, this video might have washed right off. In the context of a competent, competitive, political campaign, Trump's actions up to this point make no sense. I have to wonder if Trump's real goal is to destroy the GOP or get Hillary elected. If that's the case, it says something that the GOP was tricked into letting him get this far down that path.