ABC News reports that Republican party leaders believe that there is a real possibility that Donald Trump may just quit his candidacy. Now, they’re exploring the options and trying to find someone to replace the real estate mogul, whose campaign seems to be imploding on the daily.

It’s patently obvious that Trump is in way over his head, and has taken on a role that he is neither prepared for nor temperamentally qualified for. He can’t even keep his cool around a crying baby, and he can’t control his defensive impulses enough to stop harassing a bereaved Gold Star family. Would Donald Trump just quit? He’s quit before. In fact, he’s known to quit when things get tough, bailing on any number of businesses and marriages.

Republican officials are panicking, and senior party members are scrambling to find someone to replace Trump.

According to Jon Karl, chief White House correspondent for ABC News, party officials are confused, frustrated, even furious with Donald Trump’s behavior. Karl told George Stephanopoulos, the Good Morning America host.

‘First of all, I am told RNC chairman Reince Priebus is furious, that he has had multiple discussions with Trump telling him he needs to drastically change course. But here’s the news, I am told senior officials at the party are actively exploring what would happen if Trump dropped out, how to replace him on the ballot.’

When asked if Donald Trump quitting was a real possibility, Karl responded:

‘He is so unpredictable right now, they are so unable to control his message, that they just don’t know and clearly think it is a possibility, which is why they’re looking at these rules.’

ABC News provided a video clip of the report.



They feel that rather than risk being seen to lose, Trump might voluntarily quit the race. According to party officials, there are no procedures for forcing him to withdraw from the race, and Trump has not yet indicated that he would choose to do so. But should Trump quit rather than risk a humiliating loss, it would be up to the members of the Republican National Committee to choose his successor.

A Republican legal expert has advised the party officials that in order to have enough time to pick a replacement and get their name on enough state ballots to win, Trump would have to drop out by early September.

ABC News provided a copy of the bylaws for the RNC for filling a vacancy on a presidential ticket:

RULE NO. 9 Filling Vacancies in Nominations

(a) The Republican National Committee is hereby authorized and empowered to fill any and all vacancies which may occur by reason of death, declination, or otherwise of the Republican candidate for President of the United States or the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States, as nominated by the national convention, or the Republican National Committee may reconvene the national convention for the purpose of filling any such vacancies.

(b) In voting under this rule, the Republican National Committee members representing any state shall be entitled to cast the same number of votes as said state was entitled to cast at the national convention.

(c) In the event that the members of the Republican National Committee from any state shall not be in agreement in the casting of votes hereunder, the votes of such state shall be divided equally, including fractional votes, among the members of the Republican National Committee present or voting by proxy.

(d) No candidate shall be chosen to fill any such vacancy except upon receiving a majority of the votes entitled to be cast in the election.

It remains to be seen how Donald Trump will handle the remainder of the 2016 presidential election, but that’s rather the point; even his closest advisers have no idea what The Donald will do next.

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