When the “Trump Train” was burning up the tracks with win after win and piling up his delegate
count along the way, everything seemed hunky-dory for the Donald. Then came the Wisconsin GOP primary on Tuesday, April 4. Trump was trounced by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who won a commanding 48 percent of the Badger State vote, well over Trump’s 35 percent. Ohio Gov. John Kasich finished a distant third with 14 percent of the vote.
Whether Trump was derailed in Wisconsin or merely sidetracked by his loss to Cruz is a hot topic for discussion and debate. However, one thing is crystal clear. Trump is a very sore loser.
His defeat came on the heels of several faux pas on the campaign trail, including his suggestion that if abortion ever became illegal again, “then women should be punished for having an abortion.”  Although he quickly retracted that statement, he was rightly and widely criticized for making it in the first place.
According to The Week news magazine, Trump also managed to damage his credibility by “threatening and mocking Cruz’s wife; for defending his campaign manager, who has been charged with battery for manhandling a female reporter; and for arguing that Japan and South Korea should be encouraged to develop their own nuclear weapons.”
These recent false steps by frontrunner Trump raise serious questions about his judgment, knowledge and understanding of domestic and foreign policy issues. It seems to me Trump has relapsed into his infamous “foot-in-mouth disease,” behavior, previously aimed at Arizona Sen. John McCain, Fox news anchor Megyn Kelly, illegal immigrants, and anyone else who incurred his wrath.
In a sane world, Donald Trump, the bombastic billionaire with a penchant for bizarre behavior, would be “trumped” by most of his better-qualified GOP rivals. However, in the weird world of 2016 presidential politics, he has outlasted fourteen of his former foes. Moreover, as of this writing, he still leads the delegate count with 755 to Ted Cruz’s 545. John Kasich has “won one in a row,” his home state of Ohio. So far, he’s hanging on to his 143 delegate count.
What’s next for Trump and his tormentors Cruz and Kasich? Most polls show Trump well ahead in his home state of New York, which votes on April 19. He’s also likely to do well in the April 26 contests in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. However, even if he were to win all these states, he could still fall short of the 1237 delegate number needed to wrap up the nomination before the GOP National Convention in July.
So, the “Trump Train” is likely to roll on to the final ten states, including delegate-rich Indiana, New Jersey, Washington, and California. Only then will he-and we, know if he is “in like Flynn” with a win, or potentially “out like gout” and facing a contentious convention.
Retired Army Col. Thomas B. Vaughn can be reached at tbvbwmi@blomand.net.

Retired Army Col. Thomas B. Vaughn can be reached at tbvbwmi@blomand.net.