Roger Stone: Donald Trump Will Lose Wisconsin

Donald Trump during a campaign stop April 2, 2016 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Veteran political strategist Roger Stone warns GOP frontrunner Donald Trump will lose Wisconsin, but says the question remains whether or not Trump will walk away with any delegates before heading into the final stretch of primaries.

Stone joined Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon on Breitbart News Daily to point out that, even though Trump has been leading the pack for eight months, he has yet to seal up the GOP’s nomination and may only have a mere 100 days to take on the Clinton machine before November’s vote. Why didn’t Trump lock it down two months ago?

Stone says the nomination battle “was never going to end in March” and the Republican establishment “will never roll over.”

“And therefore you’re now shifting to a different phase in the campaign. You’re right. They need to do things differently,” Stone said.

They need to crack down and understand the process and have a strategy in each one of these individual states. They have brought on the best convention manager in the country, my ex-partner Paul Manafort. He’s enormously skilled and talented. They need to let him do what he does and I think they can get to their 1,237 number. And then they can go fight in rules and credentials, where they’re still going to try to steal it from him, in my opinion.

Stone added that while he thinks Trump will lose Wisconsin, he can still win a majority of delegates in the 16 upcoming primaries.

“He will lose Wisconsin. The question is, will he come out of Wisconsin empty-handed or will he win some delegates?” Stone said. “I’d flip it around. Ted Cruz must win Wisconsin. Trump does not have to win Wisconsin to get to 1,237 [delegates]. But his path does narrow now. He does have to win New York, New Jersey, Delaware, California, and New Mexico.”

Stone also agreed with Bannon that even if Trump wins the necessary 1,237 delegates, the GOP will pivot to a fight over credentials in an attempt to disqualify delegates pledged to Trump.

Stone has repeatedly warned that the GOP establishment will work to stack the RNC’s Rule Committee with “Trojan horse” anti-Trump members who will then craft a new set of rules that could shut Trump out of the nomination — and allow the party to pick their preferred nominee.

“These hard-boiled pols know the nomination will be decided not on the first ballot, but in a series of procedural votes by the entire convention to adopt the rules of the convention as recommended by the Rules Committee and the seating of the delegates as recommended by the Credentials Committee. Those key committees are made up by two members from each state. The bosses have been quietly planting establishment regulars in these spots,” Stone wrote. “The Trump camp has been inattentive to this process. The party kingmakers may have the votes to knee-cap Trump in the rules and credentials committees, as they did Congressman Ron Paul in 2012.”

Monday’s interview came on the heels of a New York Magazine article that extensively detailed Trump’s unusual campaign strategy. Stone calls the approach “entirely communications-based,” one that brought Trump nearly $2 billion in free (though often negative) media time, debate wins from online polls, 20 primary victories, and 736 delegates — but likely not their loyalty.

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