CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: He can win. But let's assume he loses. He's not a Michael Dukakis, he's not walking away. He's not a Bob Dole who's going to retire. This is a man who, as he says, created a movement out of nothing. He basically fashioned a populist faction in the Republican Party, took over the party -- at least in this cycle -- and then the question will be, “Is he going to walk away and go back and become a business man?” I doubt it, it's very hard to do. The fact is he will be the power broker.
I see the party sort of splitting in two, at least in theory. The populist element he has now created and mobilized -- winning more Republican votes in the primary than any candidate in history. He will have won at least 40%, somewhere in the 40s, of the national electorate. Yes, he is a force. The other side I think will be led by Paul Ryan, representing the traditional party, the Regan-ite party, the wonk-ish party, the progromatic, and conservative party, which is different from populism. And if Trump wants, which I think he will -- he will have created something. Why will he leave it behind? He leads that faction and can become the de facto leader. I think the test is going to be, can he bring down Paul Ryan, who will be -- if Trump loses, will be scapegoated to some extent in the loss and will be the leader of the rival faction.
