Monday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Charlie Cook, editor and publisher of the Cook Political Report, expressed his skepticism about the longevity of GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump and his campaign.
Cook explained to “Morning Joe” co-hosts Mike Barnicle, Willie Geist and Joe Scarborough that despite Trump’s ability to draw big crowds, it won’t necessarily translate into electoral wins for Trump. He likened those supporting Trump to teenagers throwing a temper tantrum and speculated that would “grow out of it” and turn their support else where.
Partial transcript as follows:
BARNICLE: Charlie, let me ask you this. I do not disagree with your theory here. But do you think as I think when I sigh the Trump crowds, he has a definite floor that he’s not going to go below. I don’t know whether it’s 20 percent, 18, 22 – I don’t know. But the people who show up to see him, hear him and laugh with him. They’re not leaving. They’re not going to leave this guy.
COOK: Mike, when you were in junior high school and there was a fight out behind the school building, did a big crowd gather? … Or a magician performing at a square in a town. I mean, just drawing a crowd doesn’t mean you’re going to get elected president of the United States. There’s just sort of this a curiosity of what the hell is he going to say next. That’s fine but it doesn’t get you elected president of the United States.
BARNICLE: I agree.
GEIST: So Charlie, at what point does it turn then if you believe it started now? Those people who have come out so strongly for Donald Trump, is it no until the voting begins in Iowa or New Hampshire?
COOK: If we’re looking at numbers in, OK, the Iowa Caucus is February 1. New Hampshire Primary is eight days later. If we’re look at numbers in February like the numbers we’ve seen the last month, two months, three months then this theory goes out the window.
But, I think we’re seeing this thing sort of run the course. People are going to sober up. You got half the Republican Party are engaged in a temper tantrum and we’ve all had teenagers and we’ve all seen how they, and then they eventually kind of grow out of it, settle out of it and I think you’re going to see a more exotic wing of the Republican Party — I think you’re going to start seeing them settle down over the next couple of months.
SCARBOROUGH: Alright, Charlie Cook. I’m going to call you a Donald Trump denier in the primary. You bring up great points about the general election.
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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