“Sore loser” Donald Trump lived up to expectations after Ted Cruz won all 34 delegates in Colorado over the weekend. Instead of congratulating Cruz and moving on, he opted to whine about the unfairness of it all on Fox News and air his grievances on Twitter. Now a pro-Trump group is planning a big protest in Colorado later this week to protest the results.
Trump went on Fox and Friends Monday morning and complained that the system is “rigged.”
“They are going absolutely crazy (in Colorado) because they weren’t given a vote,” Trump grumbled. “The system is rigged, it’s crooked.”
He also bitterly whined on Twitter that voters in Colorado were disenfranchised:
How is it possible that the people of the great State of Colorado never got to vote in the Republican Primary? Great anger – totally unfair!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2016
The people of Colorado had their vote taken away from them by the phony politicians. Biggest story in politics. This will not be allowed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2016
But Donald Trump didn’t object last August, when the Colorado Republican Party decided to not hold a straw poll. As NRO’s Jim Geraghty noted, “this is not much of a change from the previous cycles.”
Colorado had primaries until 2003, when Governor Bill Owens and bipartisan majorities in the state legislature eliminated them in presidential contests, contending it was a waste of money and that state parties should pay for them, not taxpayers. The state shifted to a caucus format, and Republicans didn’t pay much attention to the change in 2004, when George W. Bush was running with no major primary opposition. Then, as it was described in 2008, “each of the 46 delegates Colorado will send to the Republican National Convention will be unpledged, but the state caucus and straw poll here was viewed as an important indicator of momentum in this diverse state.” Again in 2012, Colorado’s delegates were not bound to the candidate who won the caucuses. In other words, the caucus didn’t actually mean anything to the delegates; they were free to honor the results or ignore them. This time around, the Republican National Committee told the state parties they could no longer have “beauty pageant” competitions — i.e., purely symbolic contests that are not actually tied to the results. That’s what the “straw poll” represented, so the Colorado GOP canceled it.
Trump’s incompetent team was simply outmaneuvered, “illustrating the fraud at the core of his case for the nomination,” PJ Media’s Andrew McCarthy explained. It turns out Mr. “Win, Win, Win!” doesn’t even know how to play. He’s not great at making deals, and no, he does not hire all “the best people.”
Regardless, a pro-Trump Facebook group is now planning a protest in Greenwood Village, Colo., Friday outside the state GOP headquarters.
The Colorado Republican Party shamefully silenced its voters this election season. We demand that Colorado give the power to vote in the Presidential Primary to the voters. We will exercise our right to assemble and peacefully protest the corruption of the Colorado GOP and disenfranchisement that we the voters have suffered.
Trump retweeted his support for the idea:
“@TimeHasCome1: @WayneDupreeShow@ThePatriot143 Trump needs to hold a massive protest rally in Colorado. He’d get 100k & own the news cycle”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2016
As of Monday evening, 128 people had signed up to attend the protest; 1,600 were invited.
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