Trump Goes From Winning to Sore Losing

SAN DIEGO -- As a frequent critic of the Republican front-runner, I never imagined that I'd miss the original Donald Trump. But lately I've become a tad nostalgic for the overbearing bully who burst onto the national political scene last year.

What we have now -- Trump 2.0 -- isn't much of an improvement. He isn't any kinder or gentler. Instead, he is just more of a complainer who likes to play the victim.

The old Donald emphasized the importance of winning and labeled a "loser" anyone who dared challenge him. He had no tolerance for opponents who blamed others when they came up short on votes, lost coveted endorsements or got less airtime than he did. In fact, as a successful businessman, he seemed to consider such complaints a sign of weakness.

The new Donald is a clear example of how not to behave when you lose. Having come up short on votes lately in some Western states, trailing Ted Cruz in organizational efforts in delegate-rich California, and facing the very possibility that he'll arrive at the Republican National Convention a couple of hundred delegates short of the 1,237 needed to clinch the nomination, Trump seems intent on discrediting the entire GOP nominating process.

Like a football coach who gripes that the referees are unfair as an excuse in case his team loses, Trump has spent the last few weeks camouflaging losses at the ballot box behind accusations that shadowy figures are plotting to keep him out of the White House.

Pre-emptively claiming that he's been robbed of a party nomination that he has up to now failed to earn, Trump has labeled the nominating process "very sick," "rigged," "a disgrace" and "a dirty, rotten, disgusting system." Lately he has even targeted Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, who, Trump told The Hill, "should be ashamed of himself because he knows what's going on."

So what is going on? When did the winner become the whiner?

It was right about the time Trump started losing states one after another to Cruz. And instead of asking himself why he is not connecting with some voters and making adjustments, the real estate mogul has blamed his losses on what he calls a corrupt system. It's no coincidence that his latest tirade against the party and its chairman occurred after he lost all of Colorado's 34 delegates to Cruz. Had he performed even slightly better, it's likely that there would have been no complaints.

But since he is on a cold streak, Trump is demanding radical changes to the nominating system. He insists that the 1,237 figure is arbitrary and meaningless. Currently controlling fewer than 800 delegates, Trump seems nervous about what could happen at the convention if he doesn't get the nomination on the first ballot. He believes that whoever walks in with the most delegates should be the party nominee. And, despite Cruz's recent surge, Trump is confident that he'll be that person. His complaints are merely an insurance policy.

If Trump could remodel the entire nominating process, this is how it would look. The only thing that stands in the way is something called the rules. Remember those pesky little things?

The old Donald put a lot of emphasis on people following the rules. For instance, he repeatedly argued that immigrants had to enter the United States legally, through the correct channels and with the proper documents. It didn't matter if people claimed they didn't know the process. Ignorance of the law is no excuse, as the old saying dictates. Otherwise, Trump said, there is lawlessness and "we don't have a country."

The new Donald doesn't seem to have much use for the rules, especially if they stand between him and what he wants -- in this case, the Republican presidential nomination. When the stakes are that high, the rules are meant to be bent or, if need be, perhaps even broken. At best, they're an annoyance. At worst, they threaten the republic. Either way, they must be changed.

Doesn't Trump realize that, by attacking the nominating process so aggressively and downplaying the importance of following the rules, he is juggling sticks of dynamite? If he gets his way, there will be chaos at the convention in Cleveland. And when things calm down, ultimately, Republicans will survey the damage and conclude that they no longer have a party.

All because, when it comes to following the rules, Trump considers himself the exception.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com.