Editorial cartoonist and author Ted Rall believes the recent move was triggered by the results of new opinion polls, in which the Republican candidate is unquestionably shown to be losing to Hillary Clinton.
"The campaign is definitely scared, and there are a lot of pundits who are already writing Trump off," Rall told Loud & Clear's Brian Becker. "And this is not a guy who likes to be characterized as a loser. So at this point I think he is starting to take things seriously."
Trump's mistake, according to Rall, is that he's looking to blame everyone but himself for his current problems and not willing to make the necessary changes that would allow him to win.
"I think one of the best explanations that I've heard recently is simply that he doesn't want to win as someone different than he is. He would rather lose than tack to the center or adopt a more moderate tone."
According to Rall, there is very little chance that a gentler and more mild-mannered Trump will suddenly emerge, and this will cost him the election. Yet, the author believes that experts are writing Trump off prematurely. Trump will "destroy" Clinton in the debates, Rall predicts, and it will certainly lessen her current lead in the polls.
"In these debates, facts don't really matter, tone matters, and authenticity matters, or more accurately the perception of authenticity," he explained.
The election is not tomorrow, Rall noted, and many things can happen that would influence the outcome. There could be another major scandal, Clinton could show poor performance in the debates, or another terrorist attack could drive Trump's campaign numbers up.
