Roger Stone weighs in:

I am a veteran of nine national Republican presidential campaigns, including the floor of the 1976 Republican National Convention for Ronald Reagan. My sources inside the Republican party are warning me:

The insiders have a stunning plan to stop Trump even if he wins the primaries.

The plan involves stalling Trump short of a majority on the first ballot, since many of the delegates pledged to him would no longer be legally bound to support him on subsequent ballots. There are many, many Trojan Horse delegates inserted by the GOP establishment who could bolt from Trump after that first ballot.

Remember, up until March 14 all primaries have proportional delegate allocation. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Chris Christie, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jeb Bush and the rest will be winning delegates, too.

There are 278 Super Delegates who are GOP establishment insiders, likely opposed to Trump. They constitute 4 percent of the convention. Thus, Trump must win 54 percent of delegates elected in caucuses and primaries to guarantee he could block a plot to stop him.

To make it worse, Convention Rule 40 B says the Candidate must have a majority of

delegates in at least eight states. The Romney people passed this rule in 2012 when they had control of the party. It hurts Donald Trump.

By hanging in the race long after they have any chance of being nominated, sustained by Super PAC money, Trump’s opponents can drain votes and could perhaps stop Trump from gaining a majority in any state – even while he is winning a plurality. Bush, Christie, Rubio and Kasich, I’m told, are in on this plan. Many GOP insiders calling it the “BIG STEAL.”

For example, Trump could win every primary, but the Bush-Rubio-Christie-Kasich-McConnell-Ryan-wing of the GOP could block Trump and seize the nomination for an establishment alternative. Rule 40B could block Trump from the nomination, bypass Cruz and pave the way for a backroom BIG STEAL deal that nominates, say, a Rubio-Kasich ticket.